To Stand Together or Not at All
by TheAssassin2
Summary: One year after the Night Howler crisis. Nick and Judy are star partners in the ZPD and best friends. Everything they know is about to change forever. They must race against the clock to try and save what they can. Can they persevere through the challenges ahead, including finding out what they really mean to each other? They must stand together or not at all.
1. Another day in Paradise

**Authors note:**

 **Hi everyone! Guess I'm really going this. This is my first ever fanfic so please bear with me. If I make any major mistakes, especially with my spelling, please don't hesitate to tell me in a review. I hope you guys enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1:**

 **Another day in Paradise**

* * *

Zootopia; where anyone can be anything. That's not always true; you have to want to be something to be anything. But like I said; not always. Judy Hopps was a bunny that made that phrase true. She is the first bunny police officer, and has been for a little bit over a year now. She is not the only one that can break expiations however.

Nick Wilde was another fine example that anybody can be anything. He was the first fox in the ZPD, not really anything could make him prouder of himself that that. He owed it all to Judy. She is the one that pulled him out of the hole that he dug himself into. She made him want to be more than just a sly fox.

Nick joined the police academy about six months ago. During that time him and Judy became the closest of friends. So naturally Judy asked for Nick to be her partner when he graduated. Seeing how they were the only cops that small and that they worked very well together, Bogo put them together. Though he did it that way; just to make Judy quit asking him if she could have Nick as a partner. So now almost a year later they're still working together to make the world a better place.

It was a normal early summer day in Savanna Central and Nick and Judy were out on a normal patrol. Judy was driving like normal and Nick was just being; Nick. They were both enjoying the normal banter between themselves.

"Come on Carrots, I wouldn't do such a thing." Nick stated smirking.

"Then where is the pen, Slick?"

"How am I supposed to know? You're the one who always has it"

The two were arguing about where the infamous carrot pen was at the moment. Judy had been looking for it all morning and come up with nothing. So the only logical thing to do was to blame her partner for taking it.

"I know you have it, Nick." She replied starting to grow a little bit frustrated.

"Carrots I promise you I don't have it." He swore crossing his chest. He actually did take the pen; it was in his desk back at the station. He was going to leave it out tomorrow where he knew Judy would find it and then he would mercilessly tease her about being forgetful. "Even if I did have it. Why would I give it to you after what you did to me when we first met?"

She was about to reply even had her mouth open and everything when something caught her eye. She looked over to see a very suspicious looking bunny. "Hay Nick," He looked at her raising his eye brows. "Look at the bunny over there." She said pointing.

"He looks like he's up to no good. Think we should check it out?"

"Nah, let's wait and see what he does." She pulled their cruiser over like they were taking a break. The bunny still hadn't noticed them yet because it was the end of lunch hour and everyone was getting back to work.

Just then Judy noticed a ram walk in to the alley that the bunny was standing by. The bunny looked around once more before he too went down the alley out of sight of the two cops. Judy picked up the radio to call it in. "Dispatch this is Officer Hopps, I've got some suspicious activity over here. Me and Officer Wilde are going to go check it out."

"10-4 Officer Hopps you guys be careful." Came the voice of Benjamin Clawhauser through the radio. Nick and Judy both grabbed their tranquilizers and a few extra shots each out of the compartment in the center console.

"Okay Nick let's go." They hopped out of the cruiser and ran across the busy street to the alley. Judy using her bunny hearing; was listens for anything out of the ordinary then peeked around the corner; nothing. She gave Nick a few hand motions and they both slowly proceed into the alley crouched to the ground to avoid being seen as easily.

Judy hid behind a knocked over trash can and Nick takes cover behind a dumpster further ahead. He could hear whispering ahead but couldn't make it out. He signals the all-clear and Judy moves up next to him.

"Can you hear them?" he whispers in to her ear as to not alert their position. She nods in response.

"Come on man! I don't have that kind of money. Can't I get it cheaper?"

"I'm sorry but the ingredients are getting more expensive, I can't get it to you any cheaper.

"Well can I at least get a smaller amount?"

Judy immediately knew what was going on they had stumbled on a Nip dealer and one of his buyers. She looked at Nick and mouthed 'Nip' he nodded knowing what she meant.

Nip was a common street drug. Anyone could get addicted to it but felines were affected the most by it. Nick had been around it a lot when he was younger. He actually sold it one time when he was about sixteen or seventeen. After a successful sale and a healthy profit to celebrate he decided to try to some. It was terrible, well not at first. After about six hours it made him feel like he had the worst hangover ever for the next two days. That was the last time he had anything to do with drugs of any kind. He never told Judy about that even though he knew that she wouldn't judge him about it. He was too ashamed of himself for even doing something like that to talk about it. He never even told Finnick.

Judy looked up at him and gave him a sweet smile and nodded. That smile lit up his world. He would do anything to make her happy. He looked in to her eyes and nodded to her. He had her back, and she had his.

They both came from around the dumpster and went deeper in to the cluttered alley. They went around the slight corner that was ahead of them. There they saw the ram leaning on the wall casually and the bunny pacing in front of him.

"Freeze! Police, put your hands in the air!" Judy roared next to Nick making even him flinch.

He actually found it funny the reaction the bunny had to her all the blood drained from his face making his dark brown fur look a lot like Judy's dad's. The ram recovered first.

"Run man! Run!" He hollered at the bunny. He knew if the cops caught him he would be next even if he got away today. They both took off in the opposite direction if the two cops.

"Carrots, why do you say that when it just makes them run away?" Nick huffed as they started the chase. Judy just rolled her eyes in return.

Up ahead of them the ally 'Y-ed' "Split up!" Ordered the ram. The ram went left and the bunny right.

"Nick you take the bunny! I got the ram." She knew that the bunny would give up easily seeing from his reaction to them earlier. The ram on the other hand would not quit so easily and be harder to catch.

Nick nodded in response. He didn't like the idea of Judy going after someone so much bigger that her without him, but he trusted her and went after the bunny. The bunny was not particularly fast compared to Judy, but he was still fast.

On the other hand Judy's chase didn't last long at all. The ram must not have known the area very well because he ran in to a dead end no more than 20 yards after the Y. He turned around and crouched down in to a fighting position. Judy could tell from his foot work that he had _some_ experience fighting, but not much.

Nick about six blocks away, had just caught the bunny and was about to call it in when he heard a very large amount of static on the radio. He was baffled by if for a second before he remembered that is what it sounds like when a radio battery dies, or when one is destroyed.

His eyes widened in panic as he pulled out his own radio. "Carrots? Judy?! Judy can you hear me?!" He immediately pulled out his second pare of cuffs and cuffed the bunny to a medal fence post nearby and took off in the direction he thought Judy was in. "This is Officer Wilde 10-78 (need assistance) at Pine and Cedar. Hopps' radio is silent."

"This is Office Mchorn. I'm heading your way ETA: two minutes."

Judy had her tranquilizer trained on the ram in front of her. "Put your hands behind your head and get down on the ground!"

"Why would I listen to a cute little bunny?" He put his head down and charged said Bunny. Judy's reaction was insistent she shot the ram in the right shoulder as to not hit his horns. He slowed down considerably but didn't stop. Judy was reloading another shot but wasn't fast enough. The ram came barreling down on her. She side stepped but once again wasn't fast enough the ram swiped at her in one final attempt. His hoof hit the pouch that held her radio, which completely destroyed it. It also tore her belt and part of her pants at the hip.

Judy held the spot as the ram fell completely unconscious. "That's going to leave a bruise." she winced. Reaching down to her torn belt she retrieved a pair of pawcuffs and cuffed the unconscious ram; better safe than sorry.

She than busied herself for a minute trying to tie the hole in her pants at her hip up. Just then Nick ran down the alley.

"Carrots?! Are you okay? What happened?" He grabbed her shoulders and inspected her to see if she was hurt or not. Seeing no injury he wrapped her up in a hug.

Judy was slightly startled by the act because Nick usually wasn't a very physical person but returned the hug none the less. "I'm fine Nick, don't worry." He stepped back and looked at her again with caring eyes. They then widened a little bit.

"Ah… Judy what happened to your pants?" Judy started to blush.

"The ram hit my radio and that tore my belt off and ripped my pants." she shrank into herself blushing so much that Nick could actually see her ears turning a nice dark shade of red.

Seeing her embarrassment he put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Carrots it happens to all of us." He reassured.

"Then why did it not happen to you?"

"Because I'm a devilishly handsome fox and that kind of stuff just doesn't happen to me."

"That's no fair! Sometimes I wish I was a fox!" Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her paws. Normally Nick wouldn't mind her saying something like that, but her reaction to what she said is what gave him pause. "J-just forget I said that." She mumbled as her deep blush started to burn even hotter.

Nick was caught off guard for a moment. He didn't want her to be a fox even though he knew she would be beautiful. He wanted her to stay a bunny, he loved everything about her. From her amethyst eyes, her long ears to that cute little poof of a tail. How he would love to just reach out and touch her tail. He immediately shook the thought from his head. _What am I thinking?! I can't do that to her, it's not right!_

Nick's radio crackled to life. "Wilde where are you? All that is here is a rabbit cuffed to a fence."

Thankful for the distraction he answered "Sorry Mchorn. I gave you the location of the suspect before I went to assist Hopps. Can you do me a favor and take him in for me I need to help Hopps with her suspect."

"Yeah I can do that for you. But you're going to owe me!"

"I won't prank you for two weeks."

"Deal! You'd better keep to it this time."

* * *

Five hours and a change of pants later. The fox and bunny pair were just putting the finishing touches on the report they had to fill out over their little drug bust, well more the fox.

Jason Reed ran a one-person drug business and Jones Candy was one of his buyers. Nick felt bad for them they both lived in a bad spot in town and had lost several jobs, and then turned to drugs for comfort.

Jones was actually trying to get his life back together and had been weaning himself from drugs. He had answered all the questions that were asked of him truthfully. For providing information his sentence was reduced to nine months.

Jason Reed was another story completely. He had been making drugs to sell and for himself for years and was good at covering his tracts. Nick never met him but had heard of him. In his hustling days if you wanted Nip you went to Jason. He had never been suspected of any crimes because of how well he hid them. The only reason they knew he had been in operation for so long is because Jones told them he was his supplier for almost nine years. For resting arrest and attempted assault of a police officer on top of producing illegal substances Jason was sentenced to forty-five years in prison.

Judy had finished her report thirty minutes ago, and was now reading Nick's over his shoulder as he worked. She just so happened to notice a particular pen that she was missing in his desk drawer when he got more paper out.

"I knew you took my pen!" A bomb couldn't have made Nick jump more. He flew out of his chair and landed on his back clutching his chest with wide eyes.

"Carrots!"

"What my dumb fox?" She asked as she pulled the pen form his desk.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"Don't steal my pen from me them. Now get back to your report before Bogo hangs your hide above his mantle."

"If he did that who would keep you in line?"

"What do you mean by that? I'm the one always keeping you in line."

"Maybe so, but you wouldn't be able to handle not having me around."

She hesitated, "No"

"What?"

"No, I wouldn't be able to handle it." She whispered.

"I'm sure you're just saying that so I don't feel bad. Now I have a report I need to get done."

She wasn't just saying that, she meant it she couldn't imagine what life would be like without him. It was actually the reason she had been hit today; she was worried about Nick. It hurt a little to have him say that but she knew that he never liked talking about stuff like that.

"Okay you better get it done then. I'm going to get another radio before we have to clock out."

"I'll be here."

* * *

Another twenty minutes later they were both ready to clock out for the day. "Heading home for the night you two?"

"Yeah Clawhauser, we're getting there." Replied Nick.

"Goodnight Clawhauser." Judy said as she fallowed Nick out the door.

"You guys have a Goodnight." He replied with a wave.

"Hay Carrots, you want to come over to my place and watch a movie?" Nick casually asked.

"Sure Nick that sounds like fun." About three or four times a week they would watch a movie at one or the other's houses. Any other time they alternated getting dinner for each other. It was never forced or awkward they just enjoyed being around the other. They never called them dates. Never even had that thought cross their minds that they might look like they were dating. Though, you couldn't convince Clawhauser about that. They tried, and failed _every_ time they did.

They continued walking in a some what comfortable silence both mulling over what Judy had said earlier. She didn't mean to say that she wanted to be a fox it just slipped out and in all reality she didn't. She just wanted what her and Nick had to maybe be something more. She had come to terms with the fact that she was in love with Nick almost immediately after he had become her partner.

For Nick on the other paw it was worse. He had fallen for Judy; _hard_. After telling Finnick that he was in love and was looking for advice. Finnick had actually guessed that it was 'The bunny meter maid'. After a few too many beers and a _very_ long talk about love that was completely one sided that didn't help in the slightest Nick left more embarrassed that he had been in ten years. He decided not to tell anyone else after that.

They were almost to Nick's apartment it was only about twelve blocks from the station. Judy's was still closer at five blocks in the opposite direction. Nick had moved there after he had come back from the academy. He used to live in the Rain Forest District in some little basement that someone had probably just built a door to the outside on to. It was much worse that Judy's by far. It was about the same size and had leaky pipes as a roof, no bathroom and no kitchen. It was just a place to crash when the weather was too bad to stay at the bridge where Judy apologized to him.

They stopped at a little pizza place to get something to eat for dinner and a drink they could share. It only took about five minutes after that, including waiting for the pizza, for them to get to Nick's apartment.

His place wasn't _very_ big but it was nice. In the entry way there was a cove for hanging coats and jackets and to put shoes underneath them. It had a living room kitchen combo about three times bigger than Judy's entire apartment. In the living room there was a navy blue medium sized couch that could fold out in to a futon. There was a cubby in the couch just like a center console in a car with a little wood counter in front of it for drinks and bowls. There was a wooden coffee table in front of that. The table top could lift up for extra storage; Judy guessed that this was homemade. Behind the couch, separated by a divider wall, was a wooden card table that they use to eat at.

The entertainment center, if it could be called that, it was more of an oversized night stand with an early 2000's ninety inch flat screen TV that had trouble playing bright scenes. Next to it was a cheap movie case. The kitchen had an island with some bar stools and some cabinets under it. The counter was in the corner with a stove/oven along one wall and a sink on the other. On the kitchen side there was a door to a little bathroom, and on the living room side there was a very short hall way to the bedroom. In between the living room and the bedroom there was a little broom closet for storage. On the other side of that there was another closet that had an over under washer and dryer in it. The bedroom had a desk and a little cove as a closet without a door and a bar across the top for hanging clothes.

It was actually a really nice house. But as nice as it was it sure did take a healthy bite out of Nick's paycheck. He was actually kind of struggling to make ends meet. When he rented the place he was actually going to ask Judy to move in with him. It was _so_ much better that what she had and she deserved better. But asking your friend that is also a girl (with a space in the middle) and that you just so happen to be in love with to move in with you, is a lot harder than it sounds.

"Hay Carrots, what do you want to watch? He asked as he set his keys on the counter.

"I don't know Nick. What is there to watch?" Nick set the pizza and their pop on the coffee table and went to the kitchen to get them some cups.

"You ever seen Lonesome Dove?"

"No. What's it about?

"It's a western, not super action-ey though, but it has a great story."

"Okay let's watch it."

And thus their movie watching marathon began. It was a four part series and was quite long. But the night was still very young. The movie was about a group of ranchers that wanted to start the first ranch in Montana. After surviving a bad sand storm the group was crossing a large river. When Sean a young otter was attacked by several snakes and killed. The scene almost made Judy cry but she managed to hold it together.

There was a rescue where the main character Gus a coyote saves Lorie another coyote from the bad guy. After returning to Call; an older fox, Deeds; a very gentle timber wolf, and the rest of the group they continued on their journey. Deeds was later killed by a deer when he was trying to help a young fawn. He died in Gus and Call's arms. Judy did cry at this part, Deeds reminded Judy a lot of Clawhauser and it hurt to make the connection.

At this point they had eaten all of the pizza, and Judy was still hugging Nick while he comforted her. "Why are you bunnies always so emotional?"

"Shut up" She mumbled in to his shirt.

"You ready for the next part?" Judy just nodded in to his chest. "Well if you want to watch it you have to let go of me first." She sprung off him like he was on fire. She was _really_ enjoying being held by him. She loved how caring and gently he was holding her. The thing that sold it for her was his nice foxy smell, she just wanted to sit there and hold him some more. She could feel herself starting to blush again. _Not the time for thoughts like that._

"Okay Carrots last part. This is where we find out if they make it to Montana."

The group had finally made it Montana but Gus had been shot with an arrow and was dying of infection. His last wish was to be buried back in Texas where he met his true love. Begrudgingly Call made the long journey back to where they came from to bury his friend. In the end Call walked through the town of Lonesome Dove into the sun set to start the long hard journey again.

"You were right Nick the story was really good." Judy stated as she yawed.

Seeing Judy yawn Nick glanced at the clock up on the wall. It was almost midnight. "Do you want to sleep here Judy? It's pretty late.

"Yeah I guess I could stay."

"Can you throw that out?" he asked gesturing to the pizza box "I'll go get you some cloths." Judy got up to throw the pizza box away and to put the leftover pop in the fridge, while Nick went to get her something to sleep in.

They both had a pair of pajamas and extra pair cloths at each other's houses in case they had to spend the night working late. It was the same way with toothbrushes and other toiletries.

When Judy came back to the living room Nick had a pair of her pajamas in hand and another one of her uniforms on the coffee table. "Thanks Nick." she chirped as she took her pajamas and headed to the bathroom to change into them.

When she came out again Nick had already folded the futon out. He went in to his room and came out a little later with one of his pillows just finishing putting a new case on it. "You don't mind using one of mine? The ones for the futon aren't very good."

"Don't worry about it Nick I don't mind." She assured with that sweet smile of hers.

"Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay. Goodnight Nick."

"Goodnight Carrots."

As Nick retreated to his room Judy started making herself comfortable on the futon. She set her phone alarm, though she probably wouldn't need to anyway. She shut the lamp off and smuggled into bed. The pillow she was using smelled like Nick. She buried her face in it and started to drift off to sleep.

* * *

 **Yaks Observatory Northern Tundra Town**

Chuck Lukas, a middle aged lion, was once again staying at work _way_ later than he was supposed to. He was currently enthralled with several dark spots on the surface of the sun; sun spots. Sun spots were usually an early sigh of solar flares. They tended to move around a little bit. So it wasn't a very big surprise when they migrated closer together.

Chuck was the only one at the observatory at that hour of the morning. He wasn't supposed to be looking at the sun he was supposed to be studying Calathon. It was a lot like the Earth according his studies.

He had only ever seen one solar flare in his life and it was never looking through a telescope. Not seeing anything happen so far tonight he was about to pack up and go home. But then he noticed that the sun spots move particularly close together, closer than he had ever seen them.

Just than the spots almost touched and lit up with a surprising amount of light; a solar flair and a big one by the looks of it. From how bright it was he could guess that it was heading right for Earth, but he wasn't sure he wasn't an expert.

Running over to the phone Chuck dialed his boss's personal number. It range five times and was on the last ring when he answered. "Sir, I think we have a problem."

...

"I know I'm not supposed to be here this late."

...

"Would you let me talk already?!"

..

"Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled.

...

"I just saw a huge solar flare and I think it's heading for Earth."

..

"Like two minutes ago"

...

"Okay, I'll see you then."

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

 **Hi again. First of all what did you guys think? Please tell me in a review below I REALLY want to know what you think. Second I need to tell you that this is a prequel to Sophie Ripley's** **Traditions Among the Stars. If you haven't read it, GO READ IT and all of her other stories because they're awesome! If you're reading this Sophie thanks again for letting me do this! I hope you enjoyed I'll see you next time. :)**


	2. Back to the Grind

**I forgot the disclaimer in last chapter. Oops, Oh well!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Zootopia or any of the charters in it, life wasn't _that_ good to me.**

 **I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 **Back to the Grind**

* * *

Nick woke to the sound of a phone alarm. He sat up and started fumbling for his personal tranquilizer he kept in his nightstand before he remembered that he had Judy over. The alarm went silent. _She must be up already._ He just laid back down and closed his eyes. No more than what Nick would have guessed two minutes later.

 _Knock Knock Knock Knock._

"Nick? Are you awake? She asked through the door.

"Yeah, I guess." His voice was groggy from sleep.

"Get dressed it's almost time to get to work."

"I'll be out in a minute."

Judy went to sit on the couch and by the time she got there Nick came stumbling out of his room with a new uniform in paw. She smiled "Good morning Nick."

He gave Judy a goofy sleepy smile "Morning Carrots." He turned and went to the bathroom to shower and change.

Judy had already put the futon away, showered, and changed into a fresh uniform. She was sitting next to the pillow that Nick had borrowed her. She had one of the best nights of sleep since she had moved to the city. She blamed it completely on the pillow. She was currently battling with herself wither of not to curl up with the pillow some more.

Nick jumped through the shower much quicker than normal. The water was still warm from Judy using it earlier which helped. Trying to hurry since Judy was waiting on him, he got out and right on to the fur dryer, having already brushed his teeth in the shower. He quickly dried and brushed his fur, threw on a little cologne and his uniform and was ready to meet the day, and in record time too.

He walked out of the bathroom and didn't see Judy. _Must of left already._ Walking over to get his keys he saw her laying on the couch with her head buried in the pillow he let her use the night before.

Smirking to himself he quietly walked over to her; this would be payback for her scaring him yesterday. Standing right out of kicking range; he wanted to live through this. "Hay Carrots? Don't tell me you, the morning bunny, fell back to sleep."

Judy sprung into the air and let out the cutest squeak that Nick had ever heard. She actually wasn't asleep. She was just enjoying the smell and feel of the pillow so much that she may have zoned out just a _little_ bit there.

Nick was laying on the ground laughing so hard that he had tears running down his cheeks. Judy was trying to give him her bunny death glare, but was also having to fight off the dark blush that was threatening to burn her alive.

Nick had managed to get up and was wiping at his eyes. He took one look at Judy. "Oh come on Fluff! You know that was good! That had to have been the cutest thing I've ever seen!"

She walked up to him and popped him right in the arm. "Jerk!"

"aah Carrots! What was-" Then she hit him again.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me cute?!" She then stormed out the door.

"Ouch! Carrots wait for me!" He grabbed his keys and locked the door behind him. By that time Judy was already half a block ahead. He jogged to catch up. "You aren't mad at me are you?"

No answer.

"Okay can I make it up to you then?"

Judy wasn't mad; she was embarrassed that she was caught snuggling Nick's pillow. _Why did I do that?! He thinks I was asleep! He's never going to let me live it down. What if he tells everybody at the station? Okay, stay calm. Don't let him see that he's getting to you."_

"Okay, Nick you're paying for breakfast then, and I get to pick the place."

"Fine, but you're paying for lunch, to make up for scaring me yesterday."

"You stole my pen! And you scared me just now! So we're even." She stomped her foot to help prove her point.

"So, I swear you have more than one of those pens. And you scared me yesterday it's only right that I'm allowed to get even."

"This is the only carrot pen I have." Nick just rolled his eyes. "What? It's true. And, what makes you think you deserve to get even with me? If anything I deserve to get some revenge because of all of the stuff you've done to me."

"When have I ever pranked or razed you?"

"Yesterday; when you stole my pen."

"You can't prove that."

"I found it in **your** desk!"

"So? Someone else could have put it in there to try to get back at me for a joke."

"Even if that was true why didn't you give it back to me when we got back to the station yesterday?"

"I was going to surprise you over diner."

"Really now? What about last week when you called and said you had run out of gas while patrolling the meadow lands, and when I get there I find out that you really hadn't?"

"That was a classic Fluff. Plus I was lonely without my cute partner by my side."

"What have I told you about calling me cute?" She said in a low growl.

"I only mean it in the best way Carrots." He whined.

Judy started to blush again. _Did he just.. complement me?_ Hearing that come from Nick was weakening her resolve to be mad at him. "That still doesn't get you off the hook!" She turned her head laid her ears back, mostly to hide the still growing blush, and marched off in the direction of the doughnut shop that supplied Clawhauser.

* * *

Ten minutes later the duo came through the revolving doors into the ZPD. "Carrots I can't believe I let you get these doughnuts that I paid for, just to give half of them to Clawhauser!"

"Nick you know this is to keep him from telling everyone that we're dating even though we're not."

Nick's reply died in his throat. "I forgot about that."

"See Nick, where would you be without me?"

"Probably still making two hundred bucks a day."

"Good morning, you two!"

"Morning, Clawhauser! These are for you." Judy declared motioning to Nick with the doughnuts.

"You remember our deal right?" Nick winked at him.

Clawhauser shook his head and 'zipped' his mouth shut. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Okay here you go big guy." Clawhauser took the doughnuts opened the package and immediately ate one.

"Thanks guys! Better get to bullpen, Bogo mentioned something about a big case."

"Did you hear that Nick? Let's go!"

"Right behind you Carrots. See you later Clawhauser." Nick jogged off after Judy who had literally run at full speed out of the room.

* * *

Bogo walked in to the Bullpen to the normal amount of hooting, howling and beating of desks. _Doesn't this get old for them?_ "Okay guys, that's enough." _Guess not. At least they're excited to start the day._ "Shut it! Alright slow day for most of us. Officers Fangmyer, Grizzoil, Delgato; same assignments as yesterday. Fangmyer I want you on standby in case Wolford needs you. Officers Higgins, Trunkaby; switch jobs with McHorn and Rhinowitz. Officers McHorn, Rhinowitz; I want you two on patrol today. Hopps, Wilde; I'm putting you with Wolford who has been investigating several thefts at the various observatories around Zootopia over the last couple of years. They've grown worse in the last month. I want you guys to help him in any way you can. Dismissed!"

Wolford waited at the door for them. "Morning guys." Nick and Wolford became friends as soon as he had started working as a cop.

"Morning buddy. So you've been working on this case for a couple of years? Why haven't you closed it?"

"Well I guess I should start from the beginning. About two years ago the Yaks Observatory was broken into and had several of their instrument things stolen. They didn't even know until the next week. No damage, no evidence, no trace that the stuff was even stolen other that it wasn't there when they needed it. Every time I was about to call the investigation off there would be another theft. The trail has been particularly hot lately; there only use to be one theft every two or three months. Now there's been three in just the last two month alone."

Judy looked up from her note book carrot pen in hand. "Whoever we're dealing with they definitely know what they're doing. Never leaving damage and never being seen, this could get tricky."

"When has tricky ever gotten in your way, Fluff?"

"I never said I was quitting"

"Alright, sheesh. Where do we start, any ideas?" He looked at Judy who was in deep thought for all of thirty seconds.

"Wolford?"

"Hum."

"Do you have a list of what was stolen?"

"Yeah it's in my office. Give me a sec, I'll be right back."

"We're heading down to the garage."

"I'll meet you there." He called as he took off towards his office.

"Where are we going Fluff?"

"To the nearest observatory; there are two possibilities this person is stealing this stuff to sell or to use themselves. If they're using the stuff for themselves, assuming they haven't gotten a full collection yet, we can guess what they might go after next."

"You just thought of that?" Judy nodded "Smart bunny."

While in the elevator Judy couldn't help but catch a few sniffs of Nick. _Keep it together Judy only another twelve hours._ He smelled so foxy and the cologne he had put on wasn't helping her. She both praised and cursed that the doors had to open. By the time they made it to the cruiser Wolford was waiting for them by it.

"How did you beat us down here? You must have speed like Carrots here." Nick exclaimed pointing thumb at Judy.

"I used the stairs which just so happen to be closer to my office and your cruiser."

"You guys ready yet? We need to get going." Judy was already waiting in the cruiser.

"I call shotgun!"

"No fair that's where I usually sit. Judy, do something!"

"You guys are both great cops but put you two together and you guys can't get anything done. Just get in."

"Carrots you're supposed to be on my side." Nick whined but got in the back.

"Here let me put the grate down." Offered; Wolford.

"There, is that better you dumb fox?"

"Yes." mumbled Nick.

"Okay, everybody set?" Nick and Wolford both nodded. "Good, let's go."

* * *

Chuck had been up all night, which was weird even though he stayed at work too late most nights he usually got _some_ sleep. His boss had arrived ten minutes after his call which was amazing since he lived almost on the other side of the city. He was now punching in the final pieces of data that would determine if the flair would hit the earth.

~six hours earlier~

Chuck paced back and forth for what seemed like hours, but it had only been five minutes since his phone call. He heard the doors to the observatory slam open and in strode Edward Sanders an arctic fox with silver grey eyes. He wore a black flannel shirt and normal jeans. He ran up to Chuck.

"Chuck what happened?"

"There was a solar flare it was pretty big and I think it's heading towards the Earth."

"I want to see the recordings, anything you got."

"Okay sir."

Edward was a close as you could get to a jack of all trades among astronomers. If you had a question about space he could answer it. It didn't matter what it was about; the sun, planetary orbits, the cycles and patterns of space; anything. Chuck didn't know how he did it but he still did.

After watching the recording, taking notes and measurements, and consuming three pots of coffee they finally started to get results back about the flair. "Well I can say that this flair is big especially for it to happen during solar medium."

"Is that good?"

"I wouldn't say yes, it's definitely strange. Solar flare concentration cycles on a pattern of eleven years. The first year being solar minimum, and the eleventh being solar maximum, this can very one to three years though. There is only about one solar flare every week during solar minimum, and up to four hundred a day during solar maximum. It's just odd to see one this big during the restively calm time period the sun is in now."

Nodding his head Chuck understood most of what Edward said. "Why is there a pattern?"

"Pattern of what?"

"Let me rephrase that. Why is there solar maximum and minimum?"

"Oh okay. You see the sun rotates differently than the Earth does. You should know that it rotates slower at the polls than it does in the center. It can do this because it's made out of plasma and acts like a thick soupy liquid of sorts. This rotation generates an extremely powerful magnetic field. This field strengthens the already existing magnetic field lines that the sun has. It stretches them horizontally and even mats them up. Until they poke out of the surface of the sun. The lines form rings."

"As plasma churns it twists the rings and charges them with energy. One side of the rinds is positive and the other negative if they were to ever cross it would cause an explosion; a solar flare. This isn't the only factor helps that throws energy at us. I believe the super-heated corona pushes this explosion, or what's left of it, away from the sun in what is called a Coronal mass ejection, or CME for short. Back on subject the more stretched and matted the field lines are, the more solar flares. We call this solar maximum."

"How do the field lines calm down?"

"Good question, I was just getting to that. After the field lines get to this certain point the magnetic polls reverse. After that the cycle starts over."

"How do they reverse?"

"I honestly don't know, they just do."

"Oh that's cool."

~present~

"Anything yet?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, look at this."

"Well we're not getting hit until tomorrow night and we're not getting hit dead on either. It also looks like our magnetic field is going to reflect most the CME. We're really lucky, you know?"

"No I don't get it."

"Oh right, I forgot, sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"Okay CMEs move through space like a bullet; they spin. They also have a magnetic charge; one side is negative and the other positive. The Earth's magnetic field will reflect it if hits positive to positive and negative to negative. If it was to hit negative to positive and positive to negative it would conduct down in to our atmosphere."

"What happens then?" Chuck asked with a little fear in his voice.

"As long as the flare isn't unfathomably huge it would just cause a black out to all electronics until we can get it repaired. It would also cause one of the most magnificent Aurora light shows anyone has ever seen."

"What happens if an unfathomably huge flai-"

 _Knock knock knock knock._

"That's weird. We never get visitors up here."

"It could be the police here to talk about the stolen equipment."

"Keep an eye on that, I'll go let them in." Edward went over to the heavy steel doors and undid the locks on them. Opening the door he saw Wolford. "Officer Wolford, here to ask more questions?"

"No Edward. It's not me this time; it's her." He stated stepping aside to reveal a bunny with a fox standing next to her.

"Okay, what is it you guys want to know? By the way the name's Sanders, Edward Sanders, but you guys can call me Edward."

Judy stepped forward and grasped his outstretched hand. "Judy Hopps; ZPD."

Nick reached forward next. "Nick Wilde."

"Nice to meet both of you. Now come in, it's cold out there."

* * *

 **Hi everybody I'm back. What did you think about chapter two? How do you like Edward. Is he enough like a rocket scientist? Let me know in the comments. Thank you for reading and** **I'll see you next time, bye.**


	3. Give me my Coffee!

**Hey everybody! I'm sorry for the wait. I know I'm supposed to have some sort of excuse but I don't. *hangs head in shame* Anyway! It's done now. I hope you enjoy!**

 **Edit: 6/6/17 Big thanks Venomheart the Dreamer who has pointed out some mistakes in this chapter. I hope I got them all ironed out. :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

 **Give me my Coffee!  
**

* * *

Nick, Judy and Wolford followed Edward into the large building. They walked through a short hallway to a mud room, which had several hooks for coats and jackets.

"Can I get you guys anything? Coffee is about all we have right now."

Wolford perked up at the sound of this. "Sure I'd like some of that coffee. What about you guys? Judy?"

"No thanks." The bunny replied.

"What about you Nick? I know you like coffee, and this place has some of the best coffee I've ever had."

Wolford was easily excited by certain things, for it to be coffee this time there had to be something good about it."Fine, I'll try a cup. You sure you don't want any Carrots?"

"Yes I'm sure." Judy's mind was on the case not coffee. Like she said earlier both Nick and Wolford were great cops but put them together they tended to kid around too much.

They stopped in the entrance of the dome, next to it there was a small counter space with a microwave and a coffee maker on it. Edward filled some cups for them. The main observatory was very open other that the massive telescope in the middle of the room. There was a four story tower that the telescope was mounted on. Looping in and out of one of the corners was a medal spiral staircase. There was a catwalk around the entirety of the upper part of the dome which had several computers on it that ran along the walls.

"Nice place." stated Nick.

"Yeah, it's the second most powerful telescope, which is still in service, ever made."

"Damn! This coffee is amazing! What did you put in here?" Nick had tried said coffee.

"Told you." Wolford had a told you so look on his face.

"Yeah you weren't lying. What's in this?"

"I don't know. Ask Edward, he's the sciency guy." Wolford answered

"It has ganoderma in it."

"Gano what now?"

"Gano-der-ma." Edward supplied.

"Isn't that a mushroom?" Judy asked. This interested her, she's only ever read about the plant that grew in the far country of Japawn. She was starting to regret her choice of declining Edward's offer of the coffee.

"Yes it is, well kind of it's actually the spores of a mushroom. It's supposed to be pretty good for you, but I'm not sure it really is. I buy the coffee mostly because of how good it tastes without having to add anything to it."

"Cool. Now before my partner distracts me anymore." she pointed at Nick who just winked at her. "What can you tell us about the equipment that has been stolen over the last two years? What are their uses specifically?" Judy pulled out the list of stolen equipment and gave it to Edward.

"Well, all the stuff here was all custom made for our observatory but can easily be made to fit others of about the same size. They're all made for specific jobs too; which range from looking at planets to looking at the sun, or just looking in general. We store them in a large warehouse under the observatory but over the years they've all been stolen, and they aren't cheap to replace either. Lately however we've had smaller things stolen mostly charged coupled devices, hundreds of them."

"What are charged coupled devices?" Nick asked.

"Think if them as a flash drive for the telescope. We use them to record data, from anywhere to one second to several hours of it."

"Considering the number stolen last how long would you say until the next time more are stolen?" Wolford spoke up.

"I'm not completely sure but I'd say anywhere in the next few days or weeks, maybe a couple of months at most."

"What observatory is the most frequently stolen from?" Judy asked.

"Just this one. There's another in the Meadowlands but I think it's too far away for whoever is stealing the equipment to want to steal form it, ours is smaller and more remote."

"That's all I can think of. What about you Nick?"

"Where can I get more of this coffee?"

"Nick! I meant about the case." This was starting to get a little old for her.

"Oh, okay. Then I got nothing. Oh wait can you give us a tour? I've always wanted to see the inside of an observatory."

"Nick we don't have time for that." Judy warned.

"It's not just that, knowing a little more about this place might help with the case."

"Guess I can't argue with that. Fine lets go."

"Where do you guys want to start?" Edward asked.

"Anywhere is fine."

"Alright then follow me." The group ventured closer to the enormous telescope

"This observatory was built in eighteen o seven. In its time it was the second most powerful built and now is the most powerful still being used currently. It has a refracting telescope which means it works a lot like a spy glass only much bigger."

Judy spoke next. "How is it so old and still the most powerful?"

"The observatory in the Meadowlands is more advanced but the telescope is not near as big as this one. Plus we've upgraded this one over the years. The biggest upgrade being the ability to hook up advanced computers and equipment up to it, so that helps substantially."

Edward led them up the stairs to the cat walk that went around the room. "Up here we have some of our smaller control and recording computers. The bigger ones are in another part of the observatory."

"Sir I've got the finale readings archived, they can be reviewed and further studied if you feel like it." Chuck had noticed the group and had come up to report to Edward.

"Thank you Chuck. I'll look over them later."

"How you been holding up Chuck, haven't still been staying up till the wee hours of the morning?" Wolford inquired.

They had met when the case had first started. Wolford had actually tried to arrest Chuck thinking he was one of the people stealing the equipment. After a call to Edward the whole thing was cleared up and they had become friends.

"I'not going to answer that Officer, but if it makes you feel better; I'm doing fine. How are you?" he replied with a smile.

"I've been worse. Oh Chuck, I'd like you to meet Officers Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps." Wolford gestured in their direction.

"I've heard of you two. You guys stopped Bellwether!" He wasn't greatly affected by the Night howler crisis because he spent most of his time at work. It was literally becoming his second home.

"Yep that's us, but if you ask me Officer Hopps did all the hard work."

Judy elbowed Nick "Stop telling people that Nick, we did it together."

Nick grunted from the light blow, but still chuckled. "Fine I _might_ have pulled my weight a little bit."

Edward was enjoying the conversation; it wasn't often he saw very many people. He rarely ever saw Chuck anymore with his assignment taking up all his time. Thinking of Chuck he realized stuff could turn sour quick if Chuck mentioned anything about the flair before the time was right.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. Chuck I want you to take the rest of the day off, you've been here since yesterday morning."

Chuck seemed a little dejected at not being able to help out more with the flair. But he could see Edward's point, being tired didn't help either.

"Alright sir, but can I stick around for the tour? I don't think I've seen every room this place had hidden in it."

"Alright but I don't want to see you around afterwards." _Now that we got that out of the way._ "Where do you guys want to go next?"

"We'd like to see the warehouse that might have some answers to how suspect got in." the bunny replied.

"Alright that's on the way." He gestured for them to follow.

The group went down the stairs and exited the dome through a second set of big double doors. They came into a hallway that looked almost exactly like a school hall, only it had stone flooring and brick walls.

"Along this hall we have mostly offices and class rooms, and three conference rooms. We even have a gymnasium for large demonstrations. In recent years we haven't had as many astronomers so we've rented out some of the offices and class rooms and the two of the conference are open for use at any time. For that reason I can't show you very many, but I can show you our main conference room. If you'd like?"

Nick nodded. "Sure it couldn't hurt."

That is where they headed next. When they got there Judy was amazed to see how large it was; it was almost as big at the lobby back at the precinct. This only made her wonder how big the gym was. It even had a second and third level full of computers, monitors and other bits of technology that she could never begin to guess the uses of. The room was quite dark, but there were various lights scattered around. In the middle of the bottom level there was a huge table that sat in front of a projector screen.

"Sorry about the heat, all of our big electoral equipment is in here and they generate a lot of it. Anyway this is where we decode the charged coupled devices to make hard copies and diagrams. When I'm not in the dome I'm most likely to be in here doing one thing or another. Though it hasn't happened in more than ten years if there is anything of great importance we'll discuss it in here too."

The group looked around for a few minutes asking various questions about what this did and how this worked before they left to see the rest of the building. While they were walking to one of the two smaller domes Nick was thinking about what Edward had said about there not being many astronomers now a days. It also was strange how they seemed like they were the only ones there.

"Mister Sanders, you mentioned there not being that many astronomers. What did you mean by that?"

"Well there are still a healthy number of astronomers, we're not all dying out or anything. There's just not many at this particular observatory. It's actually just me and Chuck here, I've been training him for a few years now."

"What are the others doing?" Judy asked. This could be part of the reason no one had ever caught their suspect before; no one was around to see them.

"They've been assigned to other observatories around the world. Our group was the best in the world. We were all trained together and worked here for many years. And before you ask why I didn't get reassigned; it was because I was put in charge of the groups and their teams."

"So you're in charge of most of the observatories in the world?" Nick was impressed.

"Not really, I'm the one they all report back to; I'm not the one giving the orders. I put their data together and form a report of sorts."

"That's still an impressive position." Wolford affirmed

 _You don't know the half of it._ "Yeah it is but is makes getting sleep hard." He paused. "Well we better continue."

"Lead the way." Nick gave his signature two fingered salute.

"Guys we're already here." Judy had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing too hard.

"Oh." The foxes said in unison which just made her giggle more.

Edward was about to open the doors to the dome when he found his earlier placed sticky note. The note was for reminding him and Chuck that the dome was in use and they couldn't go in.

"Oh great! I forgot both of the small domes are in use right now which means we can't go in. I'm really sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. We're actually kind of on a time limit." Wolford interjected. He hated rushing something like this but the sooner he got back the sooner he could set up some surveillance.

Edward understood right away. "Oh, you should have told me that sooner. We'll just get down to the warehouse then."

They turned around and headed back towards the main hallway. When they got there they went the opposite way that they had originally. They came to yet another set of heavy metal doors. On the side there was a pad with several numbered buttons. Edward walked up to it and punched in what Nick could guess was a twenty plus character code.

"We've seriously upgraded the security to this area but it hasn't helped much." Edward muttered more to himself in frustration than to the rest of the group.

"Don't worry. We'll figure this out and put a stop to it." Judy resolved in a soothing tone. Nick could only smile at how determined and positive she always was. What life would have been like if he'd never met her.

The heavy doors made a loud click sound as the locks disengaged. Edward went ahead and pulled one of them open, and they all went through. On the other side there was yet another set of doors but instead of being on the wall they were mounted on a cargo elevator. Once again Edward put in a code before they entered the elevator to go down to the warehouse.

The ride was like any other elevator; it even had the cliché music and everything. When they made it to the bottom and exited the medal box. The lights came on and both Nick and Judy's eyes widened mouths dropped open.

"Sweet cheese and crackers this place is huge!" Judy exclaimed.

She was right it was about the size of a football field big enough for Bogo to play on, though it wasn't very tall.

"You weren't kidding, when you said warehouse I thought you meant like a large storage area maybe a dozen feet by a dozen feet or so." Nick said still in awe.

"At one point it was; it was originally a wine cellar but my father made the arrangements to have it expanded for storage."

The room was mostly empty other than dozens of shelves that had what looked to be propane bottles on them. There were a few huge pieces of equipment that Nick could only guess went to the telescope, each standing double his own height. There were also many smaller ones that were only as tall as Judy. In the far corner there was a medium sized forklift. And in the other corner there were book shelves filled to the bursting with books. In the corner closest to them there were older computers and replacements parts for the new ones.

"This place used to be fuller but as you can see it isn't anymore. The bottles over there are liquid nitrogen dewars it's where we store the used Charged Coupled Devices. In order for them to retain their data they need to be kept at a very cold temperature. We just keep them in specially made dewars, once they're locked they'll stay cold for decades. Over there in the corner we keep our hardcopy data and records. That's what all the books are. If it helps with the investigation that forklift runs off of propane and requires a special key that only I have access to."

"That might be traceable." Judy had gone back in to cop mode and had her carrot pen and note pad out again and had been copying everything Edward had said. "Is this the only entrance to the room?"

"Yes, though there used to be another. Before it was upgraded the only way you could get in here was through a trap door in a shed that was behind the observatory but it was sealed off many years ago."

"Have you had anything other than equipment stolen? Like any of your archives?"

"Actually yes we've had one manuscript stolen. It was from eighteen fifty nine." Edward's eyes widened slightly and he seemed to become somewhat nervous.

"Why only one and why just that year? What happened?" Nick asked.

"The earth was hit with the larges solar flare in recorded history."

"Oh wow, probably one you wouldn't mind getting back." was the fox's reply

"Yeah you never know when you might need it."

Judy jumped in again as they were getting sidetracked. "Is there anything else that you think might help?"

"No not really, I know as much as you do. You guys can look around if you want." He offered.

"I don't think we need to do that. If anything comes up we'll just ask Wolford."

"Well that's all I got to show you. If you guys are ready we can head back up." Everyone nodded in return.

And so the group once again got into the elevator to leave. Once above ground again they returned to the main dome. Chuck had left the group half way there to head home for the day. While they were saying their good byes Nick had wondered off to find a restroom.

By the time they were back where they started Nick was waiting for them. Right away Judy knew something was up just from the happy look on his face. "Okay what did you do this time?" She noticed his coffee cup was full again. "You didn't. Nick that's Edward's coffee." She scolded him just like his mom would when he was a kid. Just that had his ears pressing down to his head.

"Don't worry about it I wasn't going to finish it anyway." Nick just smirked at Judy in victory.

She continued to glare at Nick for a second but relented. "Thanks for all the info Mister Sanders; I'm sure it'll help out."

"You're welcome Miss Hopps. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Thanks for the coffee." Nick offered.

"You're welcome Mister Wilde, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Have a nice day."

"You too Edward, I'll see you later." Wolford said.

Nick, Judy and Wolford then started towards the door.

"So do you think this was at all useful Carrots?"

"Of course it was useful. We know now that out suspect is using the equipment for themselves. It sounds like they have all the big equipment they need, and are just coming back for the stuff that isn't reusable. All this has something to do with the year eighteen fifty nine. We'll need to do some research."

"You got all that? You sure you're not a detective yet? When did the Chief promote you? Wolford, why haven't you figured this out already?"

"I have, well most of it. You guys could have just asked if there was a pattern."

"We know that. I just wanted to know if and or when the next theft is going to happen." Judy defended.

"See I told you Carrots was a natural detective."

There was a growing blush moving up Judy's ears. Seeking a distraction she went for the first thing that came to mind.

"Give me that!" Nick yelped as she stole his coffee.

"Hay, that's mine!"

"I don't care; I want to try some. Plus this is your second cup and you took it without asking."

"Wait what?" Judy put it to her lips and took a sip. "Stop, don't drink all of it."

"Wow, you were right Wolford this is good." She marveled after a big swig.

"Carrots, give it back." He whined. "Please, I'm begging you."

"Alright I'll give it back on one condition; you pay for lunch instead of me."

Nick currently didn't have the money to pay for lunch, he could pay for one of their meals a day and no more otherwise he wouldn't make his rent "Never mind, you can keep it."

"What, why?" It was surprising how fast he relented; and that caught Judy off guard. Something was wrong.

"I paid for breakfast; it's your turn."

"Oh… alright." She hesitated. "You can have the coffee back."

"That's fine you can keep it. It has rabbit germs in it now anyway."

"As much as I love watching you guys do whatever that was. I need to get back the station to set up some surveillance here. Would you guys mind driving me back?"

Nick praised the distraction. He knew this would come up again Judy wasn't the kind of person to let stuff that didn't sit well with her go, and he could tell from her twitching nose that this didn't sit well with her.

"Yeah sure it's almost time to get lunch anyway." Judy responded. She knew something was up with Nick and he didn't want her to know about it. Getting him to tell her what it was especially with Wolford around was going to be impossible.

The drive back was quite almost awkward; at least for Judy. Nick and Wolford were talking about this and that. Judy was in deep thought however.

 _Why would Nick not want to buy lunch for us? Maybe he's just not hungry?_ _Maybe he doesn't have the money? Yes that could be it. Why wouldn't he tell me if he was struggling financially? He makes as much as me so what could be making struggle to make ends meet? I'm just over reacting like a dumb bunny, he's probably fine. Plus he is right; it is my turn._ What ever was bothering Nick he would tell her if it was really serious.

"You alright Carrots? You just ran a red light." Nick asked; having noticed Judy's silence and twitching nose.

"What, I did?!" Judy whipped around to look, but there was no light.

"Nope, you didn't. I'm just messing with yo- Ouch!"

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" Judy snarled after having just hit Nick in the arm.

Nick held up his arms and cowered as close to the door as he could. "You can have the front seat next time Wolford."

"No thanks, Wilde. I still value my life, you can keep it." The wolf replied also scooching out of Judy's reach.

"You know both of you can sit in the back." Judy stated.

"I might just have to take you up on that Officer Fluff."

"And leave me here all alone?" She put a hand on her chest acting hurt.

"If you keep hitting me like that, yes I will." Nick had to stop himself from staring. She was learning his tricks and perfected them off with those eyes of hers.

"I'm not guaranteeing that I won't hit you ever again but I won't do it that hard anymore." She did feel bad for hitting him so hard. She knew she was strong but she sometimes she forgot her own strength.

"What a relief, that is going to make me sleep better at night."

"Oh shut up."

"Whatever you say, Fluff." Like he said Nick didn't say a word for the rest of the trip back the precinct…

Which wasn't very long; because it had just come into sight.

"Hey Wolford, why haven't you set up surveillance back at the observatory until now?" Judy asked.

"I did. Well the first two times I was called out there anyways. I've just quit because the thefts were so far apart and I kept having to return the equipment. I have a feeling I'll catch something this time though."

"Carrots, why do you think Buffalo Butt put us, the newbies, on this case when he's got more experienced officers that could probably handle it better?"

"I don't know, maybe it's to teach a certain fox I know how to do his job better." Judy tossed back.

"Who is this other fox you speak of? I thought I was the only fox in your life."

"Well he's tall, slim built, and has a razor sharp wit. He actually reminds me a lot of you."

"I don't like the way this guy sounds, you shouldn't be hanging out with such shady characters."

Wolford was enjoying their ridiculous banter; those two where what the ZPD had been lacking in the years he'd worked there. Judy was a reminder of what it really meant to be a cop and Nick was the missing bit of fun the station had been lacking. Together they had brought life to the hard job of the police officer, and made best of even the worst days.

 _Man this is going to guarantee me the win in the betting pool Clawhauser has going._ Wolford thought.

Clawhauser had organized a betting pool, without Bogo finding out (no one knew how) almost as soon as Nick had joined the force. The only reason no one had won was because neither of them had told anybody that they were 'officially' together. When someone bet they had to guess a date that they would get together by or on, if that time passed their bet was returned and they had to cast a new one with a new guess.

"I'm a grown bunny I can spend my time with whoever I want." Judy argued.

"You may be grown but, you're still emotional."

"So, at least I'm not emotionally stunted like you."

"Since when was I emotionally stunted?" He asked as Judy pulled the cruiser into the garage.

"The last time I checked you were." She answered pulling the cruiser in to its parking spot and shutting the engine off.

"Okay then, when was the last time you checked? It must have been a while now."

"Well yeah it's been a little while, but I did check."

 _I'm surprised these two haven't gotten together yet. Maybe they're already together! Why haven't they told anybody? Oh right interspecies relationship. Maybe I can get them to admit it. Yeah that's a good idea._ Wolford thought. How was he going to get them to admit to being in a relationship? _I guess the direct approach is a good place to start._

Judy had just stepped, well more jumped out of the cruiser. While Nick was still climbing down. "I want to know the exact date of the last time you checked Carrots."

"How am I supposed to remember that its been a little whil- oh never mind." She huffed.

This was Wolford's chance. "You know, you two make a cute couple." Judy's ears flicked at the sound of the C-word. "When did you get together?

"Not you too." Judy groaned she was already annoyed enough that Clawhauser was 'shipping' them.

"Wait, what do you mean 'not me too'?" The wolf asked "I just want to know when you guys got together."

Nick could see that Judy's ears were about to catch fire and decided to step in. "Clawhauser thinks we're together."

Judy looked him just like she did when he told the three humped camel joke. "Don't tell him that!"

"Well aren't you guys together?"

"No!" Judy all but yelled.

She waited a second to recompose herself. "No, we're not together."

"Alright, whatever you say." He knew that they were hiding something.

Nick stepping in again and steered them away from the conversation. "Carrots and I need to go and fill in the Chief on what we've found out before we head to lunch. We could ask about that surveillance if you want?"

"Oh right, sure you guys can ask if you want," he said as he turned to leave. "I'll see you later."

Nick led Judy in the opposite direction "Come on Carrots lets go talk to good old Buffalo Butt."

"You're so sly." She moaned "And you shouldn't call Bogo that."

"Call me what?"

While they weren't paying much attention Bogo was walking down the same hall they had been.

"Nothing Chef! Nick was... just volunteering to ask you about setting up surveillance around the observatory for Wolford, while I go and get us lunch." She said it so fast they could barely understand her.

Nick leaned over and whispered in to her ear. "And you call _me_ sly?"

"Okay Nick I'll be sure to get that. I'llseeyouinalittlewhilebye!" She countered as she all but ran away from the fox and buffalo.

 _Sly bunny._

* * *

 **I know my description of the outside of the observatory was pretty nonexistent. If you're wondering what this looks like just look up Y** **erkes observatory on google or something. It's not a spitting image of what I have created in this but it's close enough to give you an idea.**

 **Ganoderma really is a mushroom that supposedly is really good for your health. I'm not sure how true that is but the coffee I had that had some in it really was amazing tasting. XD**

 **I would like to thank everybody that has faved, followed, and took the time to read this. It really means a lot to me that people are enjoying this enough to hit those buttons. Thank you!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed I'll see you next time. (It won't be long I have most of the next chapter already written.) :)**


	4. Hustled… Again

**Chapter 4**

 **Hustled…** _ **Again**_

* * *

 **Authors note:**

 **Okay I'm back! Sorry for the wait. I may or may not have accidentally put a brill bit through my hand. Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Bogo was silent for a second with the rare look of surprise on his face. "Any idea what _that_ was?"

Nick just stared after where Judy had disappeared a few seconds ago. "Not a clue, I think she may have just hustled me though."

"Is that so? Well in that case she did say that you had something to ask me about. My office, now!"

Nick spoke up quickly. He didn't want to go to Bobo's office. He knew few officers that didn't come out of that office half alive after being yelled at, and he didn't have Judy to back him up.

"I was just going to ask you about setting up some surveillance at the observatory. We've got a pattern and the next robbery could be in the next few days."

"You are aware that the senior officer of the case is supposed to deal with these kinds of matters?"

"Yes sir, I just asked Wolford if we could do it."

The Chief cocked an eye brow. "Why did you do that? I know you hate paperwork with a passion."

"Well you see he was…" He had to think fast or-

"Spit it out Wilde!"

"He was asking when Hopps and I started dating, which we aren't. That's the excuse I used to get away from him because it was really embarrassing Hopps." _So much for having a silver tongue; nice one ya dumb fox!_

Bogo was caught off guard, _again_. "I'm going to have to have a talk about proper work place conversations with Wolford." He grumbled.

"I really don't think he was trying to be rude. I think he was honestly curious, and you know how easy it is to embarrass Hopps." Nick didn't want to snitch on his friend and condemn him to a thorough chewing out.

"I think I've noticed." Bogo muttered "As long as he wasn't intentionally trying to hound you about your relationship with Hopps I'll let it go but only this once!" He turned around and started to walk off.

"But sir Hopps and I aren't in a relationship." The fox argued.

 _Just keep telling yourself that Wilde._ The buffalo chuckled to himself.

Nick just stood there mouth slightly open. _I'm losing my touch._ He blamed it completely on this one ball of fuzz that just would not leave him alone, not that he would have it any other way. He just didn't like that he seemed to lose his hustlers touch when Judy wasn't around lately.

While he was lost in thought the earlier mentioned ball of fuzz made a triumphant return with two paper bags from the mess hall in hand. She waked up behind him but he still didn't notice her.

"Did talking to the Chief really shake you up that much? What ever happened to never let them see they get to you?" she teased. Nick jumped away spun around and shielded himself from her with his arms. "Jeez Nick, it's just me." He just stared at her like she wasn't wearing any clothes. "What?"

Regaining what little bit of sanity he had left he answered. "Nothing Fluff, you just surprised me. Can you stop that, you're going to make me have a heart attack?!"

"I wasn't _trying_ to scare you Nick. That was just a bonus." She replied with a sly smirk before she turned and started for their office.

"Whatever, you say Carrots. That's the second time you've done this to me. You do know I'm going to have to get you back again, right?"

"It isn't my fault you're so jumpy, and that was good revenge for this morning. Now come on I'm hungry and we have a case to solve," she declared, then hurried off in the direction of their office. Nick just shook his head but still followed none the less; he was hungry too.

* * *

After lunch the pair resumed work on the case. Nick went down to the tech department to check out the necessary equipment for their surveillance and then dropped if off with Wolford and Fangmyer. Unfortunately he was the one stuck with all the paperwork.

Judy was going through all the past archives on the case to try and find something someone might have missed. It was all _really_ boring. It was now almost four in the afternoon and they still hadn't found anything.

Judy groaned and flopped her head down on the desk in front of her. She was getting increasingly frustrated, she couldn't find anything that might be useful. Her ears perked us as she heard someone coming towards the office. The bunny looked up, thankful for a distraction, as Nick entered the office.

"How comes the search Carrots?" He asked with a smile.

"Nothing, I can't find anything. Whoever we're dealing with obviously knows what they're doing. Have you ever heard of any groups or individuals that have this kind of reputation or skill Nick?"

"I have heard of a few, but as far as I know none of them are in operation anymore. I never met any of them personally but Mr. Big knew some," was his answer.

Judy looked up, ears perking and a smile gracing her lips. "We should go and ask him if he knows anything about this or not. The observatory is in Tundratown, his home turf, so he has to know something."

"Not a bad idea Fluff. We should probably head over there before it gets too late."

"Yeah you're right."

She picked up her Carphartt coat. They weren't very fashionable but they held up good to heavy use and were warm. Being from Bunnyburrow she just brought the one she already had with her when she came to the city.

"Let's go, Nick."

"I'm right behind you Carrots."

On the way out Nick grabbed his Carphartt off the hook on the door.

Judy had given it to him for Christmas. It was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for him. Growing up Nick hadn't really gotten very much new stuff, one of the only things being the Junior Ranger Scout uniform that his mom had given him. The rest came from thrift stores and other second hand places, which he didn't mind at all. It really meant a lot to him when Judy gave him the coat. She must have bought it in advance and had it around her for a while because is still smelled kind of like her, which was a huge bonus. But he was never going to tell her that, she'd probably think it was weird.

The pair walked out and towards Wolford's office; they needed to let him know where they were going. This wasn't the first time they had worked with a bigger team. The first time they made the mistake of leaving the station without telling someone about it. By the time they got back with their suspect Bogo was getting ready to mobilize half the cops there to start a search for them. Nick couldn't see what the problem was; they were only gone all night and half the next day staking out this rich guy's house.

"Did Mr. Big ever talk about the people we're going to ask him about before?" Judy was curious about how Nick knew of these people. _Oh right he says he knows everybody._ She still decided to ask.

"Only once or twice and it was never in very much detail."

"Was there anything of interest that you remember?" She asked.

He sighed, he knew this was coming and he didn't really want to talk about. It was too much a reminder of the skunk butt rug incident. "Well Carrots there was one thing that might narrow our search a little. He mentioned that they were large class animals."

"That's not what I was expecting actually. I was thinking maybe someone smaller, easier for them to get in, you know?"

"Yeah me too, though it makes sense too. Did you see how big some of those pieces of equipment were?"

"You're right, the only other way they could get that equipment out without the forklift is if they were to carry it, or use their own forklift. Even then, that's after they cracked the two codes for the doors."

"We're missing something. There's no way someone could do this and not leave a trace of any kind."

"What are we missing though?" she asked.

"That is the question Carrots, that is the question."

They made it to Wolford and Fangmyer's office, it was only six doors down form theirs. Judy reached up to knock but before she could the door opened and out came Wolford.

"Oh sorry Hopps, almost got you there." He apologized.

"No worries, it's going to take more than a door to get me."

Nick chuckled. He didn't know what could stop that rabbit. She was the undefeated champion of precinct one in the sparring ring, not even the chief could best her.

"Well what did you guys want to talk to me about? Find anything on the case?" Wolford asked perking up.

"We haven't found anything yet." Wolford visibly deflated. "We do have a lead though and we were here just to let you know we're going to follow up on it."

Wolford looked at them rather surprised "You guys have a lead?"

"Well not exactly, more of an informant. Nick knows someone that might have some information on our suspect." Judy replied.

"I'd call that a lead. I haven't had a lead on this case in almost a year and half. Good job guys!" Wolford congratulated them with a double thumbs up.

"Thanks buddy. We got to go before it gets too late we have quite the drive ahead of us." Nick replied.

"I'll get out of your hair then. Good luck guys!"

"Thanks again Wolford, see you later. Come on Nick, let's go!" Judy took off towards the stairs at _almost_ a full sprint.

Wolford turned back to Nick. "Wait Nick, where are you guys headed?"

"We're going to Tundratown. Got to talk to an old friend."

"I may have an idea who this is." Nick was about to argue but Wolford held up his paw. "But I'm not going to say anything. You just be careful."

"Well I'm not guaranteeing anything but we will try."

"I'm going to hold you to that. If one of you gets hurt Bogo is going to have my hide."

"Nick! Where are you?" Judy yelled.

Nick pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Oh great, I got to go or _she's_ going to have my hide."

"Nick I got some advice for you, just remember this when Judy is angry at you; yes dear."

"I heard that Wolford! Unless you want to be my next sparring partner, I suggest you quit distracting my partner and go do whatever it was you were doing!" Judy roared from the lobby.

Wolford's eyes widened and the color drained from his face. "Okay shutting up now." He then took off almost running to go finish what he was doing.

"Nick, let's get going!" She yelled again.

Nick gulped and started for the stairs. "Yes dear." _Maybe that wasn't that bad of advice._

Judy gave him a funny look. "What did you say?"

"Oh nothing." He deflected. "Did you actually hear what Wolford said?"

"I didn't hear all of it. Did my threat work?"

"Yeah, you scared him pretty badly. I don't think even the chief could have done any better. Does this mean I'm not your sparring partner this month?" Nick silently prayed that he wasn't going to get beat senseless again this month.

"I never said he was _going_ to me my sparring partner. I said _if_ he wanted to be my sparring partner."

"Carrots you've beaten me for the last _two_ months. Don't you think that's enough?" He was all but whining now.

"If you don't hurry up and get to the car it's going to be three months." She said it with an almost evil smile, kind of like the first time she hustled him, only scarier.

It was Nick's turn to have the color run out of his face and his eyes to widen. All he could manage to do was hold up his hands and nod his head as he slowly backed away from Judy. He continued to back away slowly for about three steps until he turned around and ran away.

Judy's rare moment of triumph over Nick was cut short when it dawned one her that she was still in the middle of the lobby and that Clawhauser had seen the whole thing. Clawhauser was barely holding in one of his ear shattering squeals.

Judy just pointed at him and gave him a stern look, almost like a mom would when her kits did something bad. "Not a word of this to anyone or I'm going to talk to the chief about cutting off your doughnut supply."

Clawhauser's eyes almost rolled to the back of his head before he regained his composer and nodded his head. Judy turned around and jogged after where Nick had off run a minute ago.

After she was gone for a second Clawhauser picked up his desk phone. "Chief, Hopps is threatening people about being her sparring partner again."

" _I thought I told her to stop doing that. Who was her last sparring partner?"_

"It was Wilde, month before last too."

" _Okay I'll take care of it."_ The line went dead as he hung up.

It had become custom around the office that if someone got into trouble there was a chance they would be partnered as Judy's sparring partner as punishment . _I wonder who it's going to be this month._ The cheetah pondered. Whoever it was going to be wasn't going to be happy.

* * *

Up in Bogo's office the buffalo was looking at a list of all his officers. He was currently counting the strikes of bad behavior they had accumulated over the last month. They all had mostly clean records other than a particular fox and bunny. "*sigh* Why is it always these two? I swear they'll never learn." He sighed again and marked Nick as Judy's next sparring partner. He almost felt bad about it, _almost_.

* * *

Judy caught up to Nick who was in the garage waiting by their cruiser. "So is it three months in a row or did I get here fast enough?"

She glared at him as she unlocked the cruiser. "Just get in Slick. We still have a long drive and it's getting late."

"I'll take that as yes. That was close. You had me worried there Carrots." Judy just rolled her eyes.

"You got lucky this time."

"Who knows maybe I'll get lucky next time too." He wiggled his eyebrows and started laughing.

Judy's mouth dropped open and she started to blush. "Nick!"

"What?" She just gave him a look that said 'you're kidding me?' "Oh come on you walked in to that one, admit it."

"Fine I guess I did." she huffed. "But who says you'll be the one getting lucky next time?"

Nick stopped laughing. "Wait, what?"

Judy erupted into laughter. "Oh Nick, and you say I'm easy to mess with. You should have seen the look on your face. I wish I would have had my phone out."

Judy's laughter was contagious and Nick couldn't help but to start laughing too. "Sly bunny, I walked in to that."

"Did you walk in to that? Yes, yes you did dumb fox. Now let's get going."

He gave a sloppy salute. "You're the boss Carrots."

* * *

Their drive was mostly quiet except for the occasional question about one of the many places that someone could eat at. Judy was still somewhat new to the city. With her job she didn't get to go out very often, especially to Saharasquare and Tundratown, or Nick would ask how her family was doing.

"What is that Weazer's Wing and Things place, is it any good?" The bunny asked.

"Yeah it's good, you'd like it."

"We'll have to go there sometime then." She declared.

Silence fell between them for the next twenty minutes; they both were too busy thinking about the case to talk much.

"Turn right here it'll save ten minutes." There were only a couple places to get on to the street they needed to go down that Judy knew of. Probably one of the reasons Mr. Big liked it; it was secluded.

"How long did you work with Mr. Big Nick?"

"I've known of him for most of my life. I've only know him personally for the last thirteen years. I've worked with him on and off for four of those years. One of which I worked alongside his polar bear henchman. Then I sold him the skunk butt rug. He wanted to ice me but he gave me one chance to never be seen anywhere around that area again. It's been three years now since that. Turn left here and you should be on Evergreen again."

"Why are there three streets with the word Evergreen in the name in Tundratown?"

It was true there was an Evergreen Street, Evergreen Drive, and Evergreen Lane. And to make it even more confusing they were all a block over from each other.

"I don't actually know Carrots. Maybe someone was trying to play a joke with the names and it was taken seriously."

"That sounds like something you'd do." she quipped.

"You wound me Carrots, I'll have you know that these streets were here before I was. And you're about to pass our turn."

"Like I'm going to fall for that again, I'm not that dumb of a bunny."

"No, I'm not joking this time, you just passed it!" He cried, while pointing at the driveway she had indeed just passed.

Judy turned to confirm that she really had just passed the turn and snorted almost like Bogo did when he was mad. She whipped around to give Nick the bunny look of death, before slamming on the brakes and cranking the wheel which had them sliding sideways on the icy road before fully turning around.

Nick was in almost complete shock; he was plastered to the door from the G-force and Judy could see claw marks on the seat where he had tried to hang on for dear life.

"I think I w-would r-rather you hit me for joking a-around, not try to kill me with your bad bunny d-driving."

"Oh shush."

It only took them a few seconds to make it back to the driveway they wanted. This time around Judy turned but was stopped about thirty feet in by one of Mr. Big's polar bears.

"Good evening Miss Hopps. What business do you have here?" He inquired in a gruff voice.

"Hi William, we just wanted to ask Mr. Big some questions about some old acquaintances." Judy replied.

"Very well, the car stays here though." Judy nodded in response.

The duo pulled on their coats and stepped out to follow the guard up to the manor.

Nick leaned over to Judy's ear. "They seemed to know we were coming."

"I texted Fru Fru saying we would be dropping by."

They continued on through the house into the same office they nearly got iced in almost a year and a half ago. Nick shivered, he wasn't sure if it was form the memory or the cold. Mr. Big was already waiting for them in his tiny chair atop the massive desk. Fru Fru was standing next to him holding baby Jude.

"Hi Judy!" she squeaked in her high pitched voice.

"Hi Fru Fru, Mr. Big." She nodded at him in respect.

"Good evening my dear. What is it you are here to discuss?"

"We were wondering if you had any information about the robberies that are occurring at the Yaks Observatory over the last two years, or if you might know who is pulling off these robberies?"

"Yes, I am aware of these thefts but I don't know who might be in control of them. There is one thing though; the thefts usually aren't discovered until the routine check of the warehouse. This only happened every month or so, but now happens every two weeks. About the species of mammals that would be able to move the equipment without damaging it _and_ not being noticed; I have only one guess, but it's far-fetched."

"We'd appreciate anything you could give us." Judy interjected.

"Many years ago there was a group called the Silent Hand. There were only two people that I know of, in the group. Some say they're brothers but I'm not sure if they really are. I'll tell you what I know about them. They were originally a moving company; The Helpful Hand Moving Brothers, I think is what they called themselves."

Nick snickered, "Kind of a funny name for a moving company."

Judy elbowed him, "They were probably a family moving company, of course they were going to have a friendly name. Now stop interrupting and listen."

Mr. Big resumed his explanation. "But back on subject, something happened to them I don't know, maybe a mother died or something like that. They needed money and quite a lot very quickly to cover the cost of what ever happened to them. What do you do when you need a lot of money in a short amount of time?"

"You break the law to get it." Nick answered back in a whisper.

"Yes, that is exactly what they did. Since they were a professional moving company once they had experience moving very large things very quickly and without damaging anything. They were successful in the criminal underworld for many years but they got over confident and started getting sloppy. Eventually they were arrested by the ZPD. Story has it that your chief is the one who stopped them personally, but I don't know for sure."

Judy looked up from her notepad. "So Bogo might have some information about this; we should ask him about it in the morning." Nick nodded in confirmation. "Is there anything else you have for us?"

"There is another reason they're called the Silent Hand; anyone who ever caught them was killed."

Hearing this made Judy stop writing, Nick's eyes to widen, and Fru Fru to gasp and cover her mouth with her free hand.

"If you discover that they have returned, tread with the utmost care." Mr. Big warned.

Judy recovered from the shock first. "One more question; how many years ago did this happen?"

Mr. Big was quiet for a moment before he answered. "It's been a good twelve years since they were arrested now, and they were operating for five years before that. For now, that is all the information I have on these thefts and my theory to how they are happening. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Judy finished writing in her notepad and closed it. "No I don't thing so. Thank you so much Mr. Big, I'm sure this will help somewhere."

"You are welcome my dear."

"Do you guys want anything warm to drink before you head out?" Fru Fru asked.

Nick answered before Judy. "No, we've got to get heading back to the station before it gets super late. It'll be an early morning whether we get back late or not. Thanks anyway."

"Okay, you guys drive safe and let us know if you need anything else." Fru Fru replied.

"Bye Fru Fru I'll text you sometime." Judy said as she waived bye to little Jude. "Thanks again Mr. Big." He nodded in return.

After another cold walk back to the car the pair settled in to start heading back. "What time is it Judy?"

"It's almost nine. Why?"

"Just curious, our-" He was interrupted by his radio.

"Hopps, Wilde, this is Wolford, you guys there?"

Nick pulled out his radio and answered. "Yeah we're here buddy. What you need?"

"I was just calling after I got back from setting up the surveillance to check in with you."

"We're just finishing up here. We got a lead but we're not sure how strong it is."

"At least you got something. Since you guys are done there and your shifts are over, I could clock you out and you could just head home for the night."

"That would be nice. What do you think Carrots?"

"It would save us an hour." She answered.

"You can go ahead and clock us out. We'll see you in the morning, thanks buddy."

"Okay, you guys have a good night." The radio went quiet again after that.

"That was nice of him." Judy murmured.

"Yeah, better get going it's getting late."

They hopped into their cruiser and started turning around. The snow had started coming down harder but it was normal considering the time it was.

"Hey Nick, do you want to eat at Weazer's Wings and Things? It sounded pretty good."

"Sure I've met the owner, you'll like him." He chuckled as she started to drive.

Right away Judy knew he was up to something, and it wasn't going to end well for her.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Well what did you guys think? Please I'm begging tell me something, anything!**

 **We've reached over 500 views, that is amazing! I wouldn't have gotten here with out you guys! Thank you guys so much for reading this it really means a lot to me! If you're enjoying why not favorite and follow, it goes beyond words how much I would** **appreciate it. And another thank you to the people who have Favorited and followed this! You guys are AWESOME! Thank you so much!**

 **Next chapter we meet this Wezer person and our favorite fox and bunny go on a date. (It's not a date but that's what I'm calling it. Don't tell Nick and Judy. XD)**

 **Until then this is TheAssassin_2 signing off.**


	5. Dinner with a Twist

**Hey guys I'm not dead! Yay! I have an excuse this time but I'm not going to talk about it until the next AN at the bottom. Any way it's been long enough and I don't want to make you wait any longer. I hope you enjoy chapter five of To Stand Together of Not at All!**

 **Chapter 5**

 **Dinner with a Twist**

* * *

The pair were still driving down the icy roads. They had been quiet for quite some time as Judy mulled over what Mr. Big had told them.

"What do you think caused these silent hand guys to start smuggling stuff out of people's homes without them even knowing it?"

"Can we not talk about this until tomorrow? We're off the clock and I would like to enjoy dinner and have a good time with you."

"Fine, I'm going to hold you to that; we talk first thing in the morning."

"It's a deal then."

"You say you've met the owner of Weazer's, how?"

"I've told you Carrots, I know everybody, and Finnick and I took a couple of cooking lessons from him."

"So he's one of your hustling buddies?"

"No, he did teach me to hustle better though."

"How's that?" She asked with a slight nervousness in her voice.

Nick noticed this right away and grinned. "Oh you'll see." His plan worked, he could see it only made her more nervous. He could even see her nose twitch a couple of times.

After a few more minutes of driving they were approaching the brightly lit sigh in the shape of a plate of chicken wings. On the upper rim if the plate it said in big orange letters: 'Weazer's Wings,' and in much smaller yellow letters underneath on the bottom rim: 'and Things'.

They pulled in to the parking lot to find a spot, which wasn't hard because it was empty because of the hour of the night it was. The building wasn't amazing but it definitely wasn't normal. It was modeled to look like a log cabin. In fact it probably was a bar or something along slimmer lines at some point.

"You know Nick, I think I've actually have herd of this place. Didn't it win top restaurant in Zootopia?" She asked, not trying to act too nervous after Nick's last jests.

"Let me guess; Clawhauser told you about it? And yes it did win that award, along with many others."

"Yep, he says the food here is some of the best he's ever had. He actually offered to bring me here during my first few weeks at work, but I declined because of all the stuff that was going on with the Night Howler case."

She pulled into a parking spot and shut the engine off. Judy pulled the keys out of the ignition and pocketed them. They were both quiet for a second as they sat. Judy was still sore about the whole savage predator ordeal, mostly because she still blamed herself for most of it. Nick noticed this right away.

"I know what you're thinking Carrots, so stop thinking it. It wasn't your fault, and even if it was, you fixed your mistakes. No one holds it against you." He put a reassuring paw on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze.

She grabbed his paw in hers and rested her cheek on it, squeezing back. "I know Nick, but it still bothers me sometimes."

"I know, but please try to forgive yourself. I can't bear to see you tear yourself apart."

This wasn't the first time he'd had to comfort her like this, nor was it the worst. It was the same day they solved her first case. She had nowhere to go for the night and with fresh stitches Nick couldn't let her stay in a motel. So he had offered to let her stay with him.

* * *

 **One and a half years ago**

* * *

Nick and Judy were walking down one of the many streets in the Rainforest District. Both of them were huddled together because Judy had started shivering. They were approaching the rundown apartment building that Nick sometimes called home. It was an older building, made to look like one of the enormous trees that surrounded them.

Instead of going in the front doors, they made their way around the right side of the building. Once there they descended down a stair case that had been cut in to the concrete. They stopped in front of the darkly colored door.

This was the first time Nick had ever brought anyone here. He always tried to keep it a secret so he had some where to hang low if he was ever in trouble. He was also worried that Judy would be offended by how poor his living conditions were. In all; he was scared, scared to make himself vulnerable, scared of what Judy would think.

 _Okay Wilde it's not so hard, just open the door and make her comfortable. Look at her._ He glanced down at her by his side. Her ears were down, her clothes were soaked and she was shivering so hard he could hear her teeth chattering. _Suck it up, she needs you._

Nick took a deep breath, his heart was pounding in his chest. As he reached up and unlocked the door and turned the knob and pushed inward. "Come on Carrots, let's get you dry." All she could do was nod her head.

As far as hard days went, this was one of the hardest Judy had ever had. It even made the academy seem easy. First the all day and all night drive back to the city. Than her apology to Nick, not to mention all the hours she spent looking for him before that. Than the crazy fiasco of an afternoon she had: Weaselton's interrogation, the train crash, the natural history museum. Next was her statement to the ZPD about what happened. Than after all that, she finely got to go to the hospital to get her leg stitched up.

The inside of the apartment was about the same size as Judy's old one, only square. It was dark and humid, but it was warm. There was a two person couch, just big enough to lie down on sitting in the middle of the room. A very small box style TV in front of it. In the corner there was a bed nestled behind the couch with a little walkway in between. The ceiling was made up of mostly pipes and wire conduit and was very low.

"I'm going to sit you on the couch. Then I'm going to get you a towel and try to find something for you to wear."

"Thank you, Nick." She said it with so little energy in her voice.

"No problem Carrots."

They made their way to the couch and Nick helped Judy sit down. Just being able to sit in a warm room was already making her feel better. Nick went to his clothes rack, which was just a pipe. He found a clean towel but nothing that would fit Judy. All he had was khaki pants and pawaiian shirts. He sighed and took down a shirt that was identical to the one he was wearing. _She's going to think this is so stupid._

"I'm sorry Carrots but this is all I've got that's clean and dry." He said as he handed her the towel and the shirt.

"It's fine Nick, I really don't mind."

Judy was so tired that she didn't really realize that she was starting to get changed into the shirt, until Nick whipped around so fast that his tail nearly hit her in the face. She was stunned for a second realizing what she had just done. "I-I'm so sorry Nick, I shouldn't have done that. I'm just so tired and I had a hard day, I just wasn't thinking."

Nick was blushing so much that if she could have seen him it would have been visible. "No Judy, I'm sorry, I'll just go out for a second while you get dried off and changed."

"You don't have to go back out into the rain. Just stay turned around."

This was getting worse and worse by the second. "I really don't mind, I mean as long as you don't take forever getting changed I really don't mind going out."

While Nick was rambling Judy had slipped out of her clothes and dried off and already had the new shirt on. You don't have 275 brothers and sisters and don't learn how to get dressed fast.

"Nick you can turn around, I'm done."

Nick cautiously looked over his shoulder and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Judy with the shirt on. "There's a washer and dryer upstairs, do you want me to take your stuff?" He gestured to her small pile of clothes.

She was reluctant but nodded. He gathered up her sopping wet clothes and went over to the door. "Make yourself comfortable. You're sleeping on the bed, I'll take the couch." She was too tired to protest, even though she wanted to.

As Nick walked in the front doors to the main building he thought of the crazy day he had. He never imagined something like this happening to him again. But trouble seemed to be attracted to Judy.

He turned right and went into the shared laundry room. It wasn't anything special, just four washers and four dryers all lined up together. He stopped at the first one and started throwing Judy's stuff in. He checked her pockets and found her wallet and a key ring with a carrot keychain on it. Than he noticed her carrot print underwear. He chuckled to himself; he would have to remember to tease her about it later.

 _Wait! If these are here than…_ All of a sudden Nick was feeling light headed again. Judy was down in his apartment with nothing but his shirt on. Nick threw the rest of Judy's clothes in the washer and payed for the cycle then left.

He was panicking on the inside at this point. _Okay, calm down. Maybe she'll be asleep when I get back and I won't have to deal with it._ The idea of going back to his bridge was becoming more and more appealing. _No! This is Judy I'm talking about; I can't abandon her when she needs me. Whatever happens I'll be there for her, that's all I can do as her friend. I need to trust her like she trusts me._

Steeling his resolve, Nick headed back out to his apartment. For the second time that night, Nick found himself standing outside his own door; afraid to go in. He took a deep breath, than another. _Let's do this thing!_ He turned the knob and pushed the door open. He was ready for anything on the outside but on the inside he couldn't handle even the simplest of tasks.

Judy watched as Nick left with her clothes. He was probably going to tease her about her underwear. At the moment she was too tired to care, she just hoped he would wait until tomorrow to tease.

Nick had been so helpful to her today, he accepted her apology, and he would not leave her behind in the natural history museum. Even after everything she had done to predators and to him he was still there for her.

 _I don't deserve it. Nick offered me his home as refuge; his bed to sleep in and his own clothes to wear!_ "I don't deserve it" She whispered. She could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes.

She was a burden, and she caused so much pain, so much fighting, so much hate. Just that thought had the tears streaming down her face. She deserved to suffer for what she had said and done. Even after Nick had reassured her that he had forgiven her, and he still wanted to be her friend.

 _Could he have been saying that because I was being a dumb bunny? Just to make me stop crying?_ She honestly didn't know the answer, and that hurt worse than if it were true.

She had curled up in to a ball and was trying her hardest not to sob. It was a losing battle, as she let out a little cry.

She didn't deserve any of this, didn't deserve a roof over her head, warm dry clothes, and a bed to sleep in. She didn't deserve a friend like Nick, or the kindness he had shown her.

She could hear the door open up again, as Nick walked in. "You know carrots you really should check your pockets, I found your wallet and keys. Nice underwear by the way, they were cu-"

His remark died in his throat as he heard a quiet sniffle. He looked up to see Judy curled up on his bed with her arms wrapped around herself crying. He immediately rushed over to her

"Carrots!" She flinched at the sound of his voice. "What's wrong? Tell me, please."

She just sat and cried. She was too much a burden; she didn't deserve his concern or his care.

He was kneeled down beside her; he didn't want to initiate contact for fear of overstepping the line.

"Judy, please." He said it so gently, he was pretty much begging. He just wanted to help his friend; to be there for her.

To give her pause, he had said her real name. He had only used it one other time before. Finely with a shuttering breath she nodded her head.

"I I'm s-sorry Nick. I d-don't deserve any of this. No after w-w-what I did, not after what I said t-to you."

She broke down even more, so much so that her whole body started to shake. _Screw overstepping the line._ Nick stood up and sat on the bed and scooped up the crying rabbit. She remained curled up as he wrapped her arms around her and cradled her up against his chest.

"Come here Carrots. Now you listen to me." He paused and took a breath. "Judy, you're one of the most amazing people I've ever met. You're smart, brave, funny, and more sly than any other fox I've ever met in all of the best ways. I know you wouldn't hurt anyone maliciously; that's not who you are. What you said in that press conference wasn't true, and I know you realized that as soon as you said it, and would give anything to take it back. What I did in response to that was wrong, and immature; I shouldn't have treated you the way I did. If anyone should be apologizing; it's me."

She shook her head as it rested on his chest. "That doesn't c-change what I said. It doesn't change the f-fact that I don't deserve y-you as a friend anymore. I know I hurt y-you Nick, and y-yet you still offer me your home, your o-own clothes, and even your bed to sleep in. I don't d-dese-rve it Nick."

"Judy you drove over two hundred miles just to try and fix your mistakes and to apologize to me. You have done everything in your power to make amends, and if people can't see that, they're the ones with the problem. There's nothing more you can do, so stop blaming yourself for this."

"I'm sorry Nick; I don't want to be a burden to you. After all you've done for me I don't want to ask for any more."

"You put your life on the line to keep me safe. This is the least I can do for my friend."

Judy just curled up tighter and nestled her head deeper into Nick's chest. Here she was sitting on her friend's lap with nothing but his shirt on. He had his arms wrapped around her body in a gentle and caring embrace. She was surrounded by his smell; at first she didn't like it when she met him. But now it only comforted her knowing that he was right there when she needed him.

She was still sniffling but not crying as hard as before. Nick just held her and whispered into her ears how he was lucky to have met her. This continued for another five minutes until Judy finally stopped crying. They both just quietly sat in each other's arms content knowing that the other would be there no matter what.

It was in this moment that Nick realized that he loved the bunny in his arms. Not a friendly platonic kind of love. But the real kind, the kind that made his heart rate pick up, and for him to feel light headed.

His thought process was interrupted when Judy took in a deep breath and let it out again. She was still again for a second. Nick thought she might be falling asleep, until she spoke.

"Thank you." She spoke in the same tone she did back in the Rainforest district after he saved her job all those months ago. It was so simple a term, and yet it held so much weight.

Nick didn't know what to say, so he let it be. Some things went better unsaid. He just rested his muzzle on her head and hugged her tighter to say he understood.

* * *

 **Now**

* * *

Nick remembered the memory well, it was rather special to him; their relationship as partners and friends took a huge step that night.

"Come on Carrots, lets go inside." She nodded in reply.

They both jumped out of the cruiser and headed for the door. "Thank you Nick." The bunny whispered.

Nick stepped ahead of her and held the door open and did a small bow. "Bunnies first."

"Who are you and what have you done to my partner? He's another red fox. Have you seen him around here? I seem to have misplaced him."

Nick just smiled. _There she is._ "I can't say I've seen a fox around; maybe he's inside?"

"Oh well, thanks for your help." She winked at him as she strolled by.

"Sure thing; cutesy." Judy whipped around and was just about to start yelling, when Nick winked back at her.

For the second time that day Judy didn't know whether or not Nick was just trying to get a rise out of her or had actually complemented her. As she worked out what to say or do, she just stared, almost daring him to keep going.

After a second of trying to make Nick spontaneously combust, the doe slowly backed into the restaurant. Right as she was turning around Judy quickly looked back and gave Nick the 'I'm watching you' gesture. The fox just shrugged. Judy could practically hear his thoughts about how she was over reacting and he didn't do anything wrong.

When Judy finally turned around she noticed that the place was empty. Right when she was about to ask Nick if it was still open, a bobcat walked out of the door, that she assumed led to the kitchen.

"Sorry miss we're closed, I was just about to lock up."

"The sign out front said you were open."

"Sorry I was just about to turn it off, I'll be open by eight tomorrow though."

"Oh, sorry we must have lost track of time. Have a good night." When she turned to leave she saw Nick nearly doubled over holding in a laugh. "What's so funny?"

"HAHAHAHA!" Judy turned to see the bobcat laughing too. "HAHAHA! That never gets old! She's just like you were Nick! HAHAHA! I still remember the look on your face when you came in here for lunch and the place was 'closed'!" He made air quotations for emphasis.

Nick had stopped laughing and had a scowl on his face with his arms crossed. "Yeah yeah, it's good to see you too George."

Judy was looking in between the two as they started ribbing each other more. "What is going on here?" She had to yell to be herd over their laughs.

"Sorry Carrots, this is George, but you can call him Weazer." He winked at the bobcat.

"Hey, only friends are allowed to call me that!" George yelled.

"Well she's my friend, and I'm yours so that makes her yours too."

He crossed his arms and shook his head vigorously. "No it doesn't."

"We're getting side tracked again." Judy piped in.

"Sorry, let's get the official stuff out of the way." He held out his paw. "Hi I'm George Mendoza."

The bunny took his paw. "I'm Judy Hopps, nice to meet you."

"So what do I owe the pleasure of having Zootopia's heroes visit little old me?"

"Oh we're here to take you in because of suspicious activity being reported around the premises." Nick paused and watched George's face go from happy to see his friend, to worried he was in trouble. "Just kidding! We're just here to get supper before we head home for the night."

George was visibly relieved. "You could have just said that in the first place! Now go find a place to sit before I really do close up!"

"It wouldn't be any fun if I got right to the point all the time. Right Carrots?"

She just elbowed him. "Cut it out Nick. Now go sit down, I'm going to use the restroom."

The restaurant was modeled in a Mexican style. It had an all wood interior; it looked like a log cabin on the inside. All the furniture was made of wood too, other than the chairs, which had cushions on them. There was a step along the walls that the booths sat on. There were all sorts of different kinds of art on the walls. From paintings that looked like they were bought at second hand stores to pictures of memorable moments that happened at the restaurant. The place had two bars to sit at; one in front of the kitchen and one through a door in to another room in the restaurant. The latter of which was an actual bar and served alcohol. All in all it wasn't super fantastic. But Nick knew it wasn't the looks of the place that didn't attract people from all over Zootopia; it was the food.

Nick wasn't kidding when he said he had taken cooking lessons from George. He and Finnick were trying to do some kind of hustle that required some skill in the kitchen. So he got back in contact with George, who was an old friend from when he was little and still going to school. George had won many culinary awards and had participated in several competitions. He was one of the most renowned chefs in all of Zootopia.

George Snickered before Nick decided to sit at the bar in the main eating area. "She's keeping you on a leash. I never thought I'd see the day you would bring a girl to dinner in my restaurant." He broke out laughing again.

Nick just rolled his eyes. "We're just work partners, just so you know."

"Quit trying to dodge it Nick. You know as well as I do what the truth is."

"Yeah and how have you been Mr. Weazer?"

He got a glair in return for that. "Don't push the nicknames Wilde."

"Wouldn't dream of it. And you haven't answered my question; how you been?"

"I've been good, finally got the kitchen renovated. How've you been? I see it's much better than the last time I saw you."

"I'm getting better every day; as you can see I got into the police force."

"Oh I never would have guessed. I just thought you got yourself some fancy clothes slick." Judy teased as she walked up to the bar.

"Well you of all people should know. You're the one that asked for me to be your partner." Nick countered.

"Sound like she likes you too Nick. Where did you find her?"

"Her name is Judy, and I didn't find her, she found me." Nick replied.

"I knew it! Nick would never have become a cop of his own free will. So tell me Miss Judy. How did you two meet, and how in blazes did you get him to turn his life around?"

"George maybe we should order some food before we start story time." Nick reminded.

"Oh right! Hang on a second I need to get my stuff." George turned around and disappeared in to the kitchen.

While all this was going on Judy had gotten a pretty good look around the restaurant, before having a look at the menu. "How long did you say you knew George?"

"We've known each other since we were in the second grade. Why you ask?"

"Oh I think I know where you got some of your wit from."

"I'll have you know Fluff, that my wit is inherited."

"If I remember correctly you weren't near as witty in the second grade as you are now." George had come out from the back, now with a waiter's apron on.

"Now what do you guys want to order?" He asked them in a perfect English accent.

Judy just sat there and stared at him. She leaned over to Nick. "Is this another joke?" She whispered.

"Well I think I'll have your best fried wings and maybe some fries, and coffee; black." Nick replied with a wink.

"Coming right up sir. What will you be having miss?" George continued in the same accent.

She just shook her head and sighed in defeat. "I'll drink water, and have the fried taco. Could you not add the chicken, and maybe add some carrots to the taco?"

"Excellent choice, I will prepare it to your specifications exactly." The bobcat turned with a flourish, and a bow, then disappeared back in to the kitchen.

Judy looked over at Nick who was holding in another laugh. "What did you do this time slick?"

"What are you talking about? You should be asking yourself the same question." He held out his phone with a picture of her on it. The picture was from just a minute ago: Her ears were half way between up and down, and her mouth was hanging open, and anyone could tell her nose was twitching. "I have to say you really look quite cu-"

In that moment Nick found himself being dragged down to Judy's level by his shirt collar. "If you even think the word I know you were going to say I'm going to make you wear a pompadour to work tomorrow, and you're going to be my sparring partner for the next year!"

Nick's face paled. "You, you know about that!? H-how?"

Judy let him go and shifted back to her relaxed position and just smirked. "You really thought you could hide that you were Mr. Fox from me?" He just nodded at her with a terrified wide eyed look on his face. "Well since I'm feeling nice, I'll tell you how I found out. You remember when I visited my family last year?" Another nod from the fox. "One of my sisters saw a picture of you on my phone and pointed out that you looked a lot like 'Mr. Fox'."

"Does this mean that I'm a prime target for your sisters if I ever visit with you? I can't blame them, just like I can't blame you; I am irresistible."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means my dear Carrots; that you can't get enough of me. Why else would you ask to be my partner in crime?"

"That's not why! It was… was. I did it because I… Never mind it doesn't matter why I did it."

George had come back from the kitchen and had watched most of their exchange. "It seems to me Miss Judy that is the exact reason you helped him get into the police force."

"See Carrots; even George agrees."

"I don't care who agrees, so stay out of this! I did it because I knew Nick could be so much more than a pawsicle hustler, and if I could, I wanted to give him the chance to be more; so I did."

George leaned over to Nick. "It's worse that I thought. When did you guys get together?"

"We're just work partners." They both answered at the same time, one more irritated than the other.

"I don't believe you guys, not for a second." Judy was visibly annoyed. "Well anyway, here's your food. You're lucky that I still had some ready to serve, otherwise you'd be waiting for a while." As he spoke he brought up two plates with silver food domes on them. With another flourish he pulled the domes off. "Enjoy."

Nick rolled his eyes "Ooooh fancy."

"Nothing but the best for your date." The cat snickered.

"You have never been more endangered of being arrested for harassment than you are right now." Judy growled, but not without the barest hint of a smile on her face.

"I don't care, it would be worth it. Now tell me how you guys met?"

"Well…I met Nick on my first day at work…"

And so, as Nick deemed it earlier, story time began. In between bites of food, and laughing at each other. Their story progressed, each taking every opportunity to try and tease the other about something they did or said. They did leave out the details of Judy's apology and the night she spent at Nick's house. Though they never actually agreed to keep the moments to themselves, it was an unspoken promise to the other that the moments belonged to them, and them alone. Judy never even told her mom all the details.

"So then Judy said 'It's called a hustle sweetheart, boom.' Then right after that the cops showed up and arrested Smellwether and all the other goons that helped her." Nick explained making wild paw and arm movements to help narrate the story.

"So after that you joined the academy and became her partner?" George asked.

"Actually no, I stayed around to take care of Carrots here while her leg healed, and she could get her lease for her shoebox of an apartment back. After that I did join the academy and the rest is history."

"So just to be clear; you guys aren't together?"

"No; we're not together." The bunny replied.

"Well since you guys are done." He gestured to their long since empty plates. "What do you want for dessert?"

"Um, what do you suggest on a fine evening like this?" Nick answered.

"I would recommend the crème brûlée. I just made a batch earlier today; so it's fresh."

"What's crème brûlée?" Judy asked.

Nick nudged her with his elbow. "You'll see; you're going to love it."

She nudged him back considerably harder. "Alright, I'm going to trust you on that slick." Okay we'll have some of that, thank you."

"I'll go get it, be right back." Once again George disappeared into the kitchen.

They were both quiet for a moment just enjoying the night. It lasted for all but twenty seconds until Judy broke the silence. "I like George, he's a good guy. Thank you for bringing me here Nick."

"You're welcome Fluff, I knew you'd like it." He paused for a second. "Me and Weazer got in and out of a lot of trouble when we were little."

"Nick, why did you call him Weazer when we first came in?"

"That is a question he would be better at answering Carrots."

They could hear George coming back from the kitchen. "You guys are really lucky; I only had two of these left." He had two glass serving dishes with the creamy butter colored dessert.

"Hey George?" Judy asked

"Yes."

"Why did Nick call you Weazer when we first got here?"

"When I was a kid I had asthma. I may or may not have had a problem wheezing. So of course my older brothers teased me about it."

"That's not very nice."

"No it's not. At first I hated it. But as time went on is sort of grew on me. Eventually it became my nickname. Plus it made a cool name for this place. George's wings and things just doesn't pop for me. Weazer just worked out, not only because it was my nickname, but how it's my restaurant's name too."

"That's really cool how that worked out for you."

As George was talking he had gotten an old blow torch out from under the bar and was trying to find a lighter.

"What is the torch for?" Judy asked.

"Just watch Carrots, you'll like this."

George was still looking for his lighter. "I just used it earlier today, where did I leave it? Oh right." He turned around to the shelf by the upper right of the door to the kitchen. A few seconds of fumbling around it later he found his lighter.

"Now this is the secret to crème brûlée." He produced a sugar bowl from under the bar and started sprinkling some on top of the dessert. "Now normally this alone would taste fantastic, but I like to improvise." He took the torch and lit it and started carefully caramelizing the sugar. "This not only adds texture but flavor too; almost a roasted marshmallow taste."

The smell of toasted sugar started to reach Judy's nose, which started twitching as a result. Nick leaned over to her and gave her a slight nudge. "Carrots, your nose is twitching again."

"Oh hush, I can't help it. It smells too good."

George had finished torching the sugar and was now waiting for it to cool down. "Okay, dig in." he handed them each a spoon and then pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh it's for the look on your face when you take the first bite, it's always priceless. Now eat up."

Judy dug her spoon into the dessert; the caramelized sugar on the top had formed a shell. She gave George one last look before raising the bite to her mouth. It was vanilla flavored and extremely creamy, and yet very smooth. The sugar added a caramely taste and a slight bit if a crunch to the mix. In short it was one of the best desserts she had ever had.

"Wow this is amazing!"

Nick was quick to follow suit, and they quickly finished both of their dishes. "Well George you never fail to amaze me with what you cook."

"Quit the flattery Wilde. Here's the bill, now pay up, or get out." It wasn't a threat because he was smiling the whole time he said it.

Judy reached over. "Let me see that." She took a glance. "I was expecting this to be more expensive, especially considering how amazing your food is."

"I don't make my food to make money, though that is nice, I make it because it's what I love doing."

"Sheesh, you sound like Carrots. I swear she would work for free if Bogo would let her. What is my life coming to? I'm surrounded by humble people."

Judy smacked Nick lightly on the arm. "You're one of us now, so quit complaining."

"Who said I was complaining? I was just asking what my life has come to."

After a brief argument about the bill Nick and Judy decided to split it between them.

"You guys enjoy the rest of your night."

"You too George, see you later." Judy called before she went out the door.

"Nick; nice job man! You found yourself a treasure, don't let her slip through your fingers." The cat warned.

"Don't worry Weazer; I won't. You take care of yourself."

"You too Red."

"We've been through this; don't call me that."

"Fine, I swear that was the last time."

"That's what you said last time."

Judy stuck her head back in the door. "Come on Nick; it's cold out here."

"Alright Carrots. I'll see you around George."

"Alright, see you later."

The trek back to their cruiser was much more unpleasant; the temperature had dropped at least twenty degrees and it had stopped snowing because it was too cold.

"We have to come back here again."

"I told you you'd like it. Now hurry up, you have the keys. My tail is going to fall off if I have to sit out here any longer."

"Quit whining, we've only been out here a few seconds, and if anyone's tail is going to fall off it's mine."

"Yours is covered by your coat, mine isn't."

"At least yours has all that nice fluffy fur on it, mine is all small and, not fluffy."

Nick just smirked. "Carrots are you saying you like my tail more than yours?"

"What? No!" she already was starting to feel the heat of the blush, she knew was traveling up her ears.

"So you just like my tail in general?"

"I never said I liked your tail!"

"You never said you didn't like it, so?" Nick was enjoying this.

"Fine, I admit your tail is sort of nice."

"What did I tell you Carrots; I'm irresistible."

"Shut up and get your butt in the car."

"Don't be that way Carrots. I'll have you know that you have a nice tail too."

"I'm done talking to you." For the third time that day he had reduced her to a blushing ball of fluff, and she couldn't do a thing about it. At least this time she knew he had actually complemented her and wasn't teasing.

They both climbed in to the car and started for home. It had been a long, but not particularly a bad day. Judy just wanted some sleep. _It would be nice if I had one of Nick's pillows to sleep with again. Or maybe if I had Nick to sleep with._ She stated blushing again with the thought.

"Hey Nick? Would it be alright with you if I stayed the night at your place again? I don't think I can drop you off, return the cruiser, and walk home tonight. Well I can, but I don't want to. It's alright if you don't want me around; I under-"

Nick placed a paw on her shoulder which caused her to stop talking. "Sure thing Fluff, I don't mind. Don't want you crashing the cruiser because you fell asleep at the wheel."

She rolled her eyes. _Of course he has to tease._ "Thanks Nick."

"Don't mention it. Seriously, don't mention it that's just what Clawhauser needs to hear about us."

"Well I think your secret is safe with me."

* * *

 **Yaks Observatory conference room 1**

* * *

 **Time:**

 **10:29**

* * *

Edward stood in front of several large screens, each dark at the moment. He took one last glance at his watch. _Thirty seconds_. One by one the screens came to life with a figure obscured by shadow in each.

The center screen was the last to power on. In it all he could see was a set of the most electric blue eyes he had ever seen. "What do you have to report Sanders? This is an unscheduled meeting so it had better be of the top most priority."

"It is sir." He took a deep breath to try and calm his pounding heart. "Sir I'm reporting the first sign; it's time." Just saying those words shot adrenaline through his system and made him feel light headed.

"You're sure; 100%?" Another voice from the side spoke.

"Without a shadow of a doubt. Ever since the last solar maximum; this is the only one in fifteen years. It's just like last time."

"What about trajectory, have you calculated that?" a female voice asked

"Yes, multiple times."

"And?" the same voice asked.

"We're going to get hit dead on."

Several people gasped and started murmuring to each other.

"How long?" The first voice asked.

"A year at least."

There was quite for several minutes. Each one seeming like it lasted hours to Edward. At last the blue eyed voice spoke.

"Start making your preparations, collect your data and your teams; meet at the sanctuary in four months."

"Sir we need to make a statement to the public. We can't keep this secret anymore." Edward voiced.

"I know. Get me the date of the next event in the next six weeks."

"Sir I need stronger equipment to do it that quickly."

"You know what you need to do, I'll handle the rest. Get it done. Report back when you do." The blue eyed voice commanded.

"Yes sir, consider it done."

One by one the screens went dark. Edward knew he was alone again. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Why now?" It was a whispered question to no one but himself. This is not how he was planning on his day going.

* * *

 **Okay guys it's me again. * waves sheepishly* First of all I would like to say I'm sorry for taking so long to update here, I feel really bad about it. Now it's time for me to explain why I was absent for so long so you don't kill me. I got a summer job working as a welding instructor, and it took me out of the state and away from the internet. I've actually been back now for two weeks, but I had to sort out my fandom notifications, it was not pretty. *shudders* Now that isn't really a good excuse. I mean I had this chapter written almost a month and a half ago, but not edited what so ever. Anyway that's the best I got; *begs* please don't throw pine cones at me or try to kill me!**

 **Okay now that my moment of insanity is over (for now) I'll talk about the chapter (I know I'm rambling, I'll make it fast.) The flash back in the beginning of the chapter was completely unplanned. It was a spur of the moment idea that went way further that I expected it to. Personally I think it's some of my best work. (I won't be saying that when I look back at it in a year or so XD) Please let me know what you thought of the flash back scene. When I talked to a friend of mine he said it was really touching. Was it touching to you? If so how?**

 **I put a few references in this chapter see if you can find them.** **And finally what did you guys think of the last scene with Edward? Any guesses what he's up to?**

 **And last! Thank you to all of those of you who faved, followed and reviewed! You guys are simply amazing! Even if you are just reading and haven't hit those buttons; thank you! (Maybe consider hitting the buttons ;) it's appreciated beyond words) If I may ask, if any of you know someone that would maybe like this story please recommend it to them. If you could do that I'll love you forever. I'm done, sorry for rambling. XD**

 **This is**

 **TheAssassin_2**

 **Signing out.**


	6. Because I'm Chief

**AN: Hey guys how are you. Guess what? I got the latest chapter done! I'm not going to make you wait. Let me know what you think in a comment.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(I'm going to do this again) I don't own Zootopia or any of the characters except the OCs (Edward, George and so on) I do own them. Don't steal them without asking! You can steal them, just ask first!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

 **Because I'm Chief**

* * *

Morning; some say it's a time to start fresh. A true statement for most people. It was the morning of June 12th in the city of Zootopia. The sun was shining and mammals were still getting up to get to work. Others were just returning from nights out on the town to seek sleep. And some were enjoying the odd day off.

Nick and Judy both arrived to work at the normal time. They were both in high spirits about the ongoing case, and the new leads they had on it. Even though it was going to be a busy day, they were hopeful.

The precinct was bustling as usual with officers getting to the bullpen for the briefing. To secretaries and other tech people getting to their respective places of operation. There was even a group of the latest recruits taking a tour around the station. It wasn't just police that occupied the front lobby either; there were civilians.

One such case was McHorn's wife; who had probably driven the burly rhino to work. And now was gushing over how her husband's uniform looked, much to the embarrassment of the officer. But before long she handed him his lunch and gave him a kiss on the cheek, before leaving the lobby. It could all be summed up as very orderly chaos, if you weren't used to it. But it was the average morning for the fox and bunny, and neither wished it to be any other way.

They both stopped at Clawhauser's desk to talk before they went to the bullpen. At said desk was Clawhauser who was talking to Wolford. Wolford was leaning up close and was talking in a hushed tone. Clawhauser was barely holding in one of his squeals. Both fox and bunny shared a knowing glance.

"You're sure you want to put that much down? I mean it's a lot." The overly cuddly cheetah asked.

Wolford scoffed. "Yes I'm sure. Did you see them yesterday? They have to be more than just friends. I even herd them mention going to dinner together!"

"We all think that, but that doesn't mean that it's true." Clawhauser argued as he wrote in a note book that was sitting in front of him.

"I don't care, just put it down. I have a good feeling about this time."

Judy jumped up on the desk. "Good feeling about what?"

Clawhauser threw the pen he was using in the air and lunged for the note book that he had been writing in. While this was happening Wolford almost took off running in the opposite direction, but managed to stop himself from doing so.

"What are you talking about Hopps? We were just betting on…" From behind the bunny Wolford was shaking his head and his arms vigorously. "…How long it's… going to take you guys to…" Wolford's eyes just about rolled back in his head. "Finish the case?" Wolford let out a sigh of relief and nodded his head, but still looked jumpy.

Nick wasn't convinced. "And how does that have anything to do with us going to dinner last night?"

Wolford was quick to answer. "Isn't that what you always do; plan your attack?"

"Yeah, sometimes. But how did you know we were going to dinner last night?" Judy asked.

"I heard it over your radio right after I called in to check on you guys last night. By the way; I forgot to mention that Edward invited you guys to the monthly sky viewing at the observatory. It's in a few days."

Judy adopted a curious look and tilted her head to the side. "What's that?"

Wolford's plan worked perfectly; the bunny in front of him was completely distracted from the original conversation. _She may be a good cop, but she's still gullible sometimes, which is exactly what I need._

"Every month the observatory opens to the public so they can look at the stars. They only have so many spots for people to go however. Edward said if you guys want to go you're welcome to. It's this Saturday."

Judy rubbed her paws together and jumped up and down in excitement. "That's so nice of him! Do you want to go Nick?" Her enthusiasm was amazing.

Nick was still suspicious about this 'bet' but decided to let it go, this time. "It couldn't hurt; why not? Plus I could get more of that coffee!" His smirk returned in full force.

"Nick! Life isn't just about coffee." Judy scolded as she jumped down from the desk. "There are more important things; like work!"

Nick rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips. "That's not a surprise coming from you; there isn't anything more important than work."

Judy turned around and pointed at him. "That's not true! There are other things I care about!"

"Like what, humm?"

She was quiet for a moment. In all honesty she did have one thing or rather one person that she did care about more than she did her job. But she was never going to tell Nick who it was. The only logical thing to do in a situation like this was to lie.

"My family?" Or _try_ to lie anyway.

Nick corked an eyebrow. "Really? I know you're lying. You're cute bunny face just screams 'lying' to the world." He put a paw to his chin as he thought. "If you're not telling me it must be someone important to you. Maybe a boyfriend?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "So, spill the beans; who is it?"

"I don't have a boyfriend Nick. Do you really think I have the time for dating right now? Let's get going; it's time for rollcall." She turned around and started to walk away hoping that she had escaped. But the fox was persistent and followed her.

"Quit trying to dodge the subject Carrots. I will figure this out, even if I have to keep a twenty-four hour watch on you."

"Now you're just starting to sound like a stalker."

He shrugged. "Fine, I admit; that did sound a little strange." The bunny nodded.

Wolford and Clawhauser watched as the two walked out of the room; still arguing. Wolford pulled out his wallet and started counting out some cash. Once he was done he slapped down it in front of Clawhauser, who jumped at the sudden noise. "Double my bet. I have a really good feeling about this time!" Clawhauser only numbly nodded as he started to record Wolford's new bet.

* * *

Rollcall went the same as it usually did; lots of hooting and howling and the beating of tables. But nothing super interesting happened case wise. Other than Judy asking if her and Nick could talk to the chief afterwards. Which earned them both a glare before he sighed, then answered.

"I have a meeting later this morning. But after that I'll be free to answer any questions you have. Until then, work on your backed up paperwork." He pointed at the fox. "That means _you_ Wilde! No excuses." He then turned and stormed out the door with a slam.

As soon as he was gone Nick threw his arms in the air. "Oh come on, I already finished all my paperwork! What is he talking about?"

"The case from three weeks ago. You know; the one in the Rainforest District."

Nick immediately shuddered. "I thought you finished that!"

Three weeks ago Nick and Judy had been assigned to their very first undercover mission, with Wolford as a teacher. They were to infiltrate a local night club where they were told they could get information on the local drug ring. The mission was going well up until the point their informant turned out to be a fake, and had lured them there into an ambush. After the first few punches were thrown Judy's outfit (It was kind of skimpy in her eyes) was torn in some slightly awkward places and she went ballistic. After the fight (It was a total slaughter.) Nick just couldn't hold his tong and made a dumb remark. It didn't end well for him to say the least.

"I finished _my_ paperwork, I didn't do yours. You still need to describe the events of the case."

"I don't want to relive that. And we agreed not to talk about that ever again."

Judy shrugged and nodded her head. "True, but you still need to finish your paperwork no matter the agreement we had."

He laid his ears down and made the 'sad fox face'. "You're so mean sometimes."

"We all have our moments. Now go!" She waved her arms at him in a shooing manner.

If it was even possible Nick's ears dropped even lower and his tail started to drag the ground as he walked away. He turned his head over his shoulder and gave Judy one last completely heartbroken look before he disappeared out of the bullpen.

Judy had to admit that the look Nick gave her did pull on her heart strings a little. _He was just so hurt looking_. She shook her head; he had to be faking it.

 _But what if he wasn't? Did filling out those papers really cause Nick that much pain?_

 _No, no it could not._

 _Could it?_

 _No that's not possible!_

Maybe she would get him some coffee to make him feel better before they went to talk to Bogo. She nodded her head as she steeled her mind.

* * *

Nearby Nick decided to swing by Clawhauser's desk and ask about the 'bet' he was a part of, before he returned to his office. He was still slightly upset about the paperwork but he had played it up considerably there at the end. That still didn't mean he wanted to do it though; he hated paperwork. It _almost_ caused him physical pain.

Once he arrived at his destination he started working out his plan. "Hey Spots. You mentioned a bet about me and Officer Hopps. What exactly was that about?"

Clawhauser instantly started to fidget with a doughnut that he had in his paw. "We actually do it quite often with you two. You guys have such great case closeout rates, no matter if it's high profile or just petty theft. So it's just a matter of time before you close the case. So… we kind of started betting on how fast you guys can get it done." The more he spoke the more he shrunk into himself.

Was that really all that the rest of the station was up to? Nick didn't know, but he had ways of getting answers. "Really now? I would never have guessed. We really must be awesome to get most of the station betting on us."

"Yeah, you guys work quite well together. Almost like you can read each other's minds or something." Clawhauser gestured around his head, spilling sprinkles all over the desk in the process. "How do you guys do it?"

Nick put his hand to his chin and pretended to think about the question. "I don't know; its luck most of the time. It helps to know and understand each other too."

The information Clawhauser was hearing was a gold mine. This was going to be the turning point of his betting pool. But now wasn't the time for thoughts like that. He had to get Nick off his back or he would be in a world of hurt.

"Yeah I'm sure it does. So wha-"

" _Grizzoil to dispatch."_

Clawhauser picked up the radio. "I'm sorry Nick, I got to take this." The fox nodded his head in understanding. Clawhauser hit the button on the radio. "Go for dispatch."

" _I'm responding to the disturbance here on 28_ _th_ _. There's a goat here that say's he sees hundreds of butterflies, but there aren't any around. Want me to bring him in?"_

"Yeah, try not to traumatize him."

As he turned to leave; Nick just shook his head and sighed. There wasn't a boring moment around this station. He was happy he got some information on this so called 'bet.' Clawhauser was hiding something. He'd started getting nervous and was fidgeting way too much for the fox's comfort.

Nick sighed again. He _really_ didn't want to do his paperwork, but Judy was making him and he _really,_ _ **really**_ didn't want to make her mad. There was a chance that she would make him be her sparring partner for the third time in a row. A chill ran down his back at the thought.

* * *

As soon as Nick had left the room Judy turned in the opposite direction and started to walk towards the receptionist, desk using a more roundabout route. She would use her walk to the coffee shop as some time to patrol. But she would need to check in with Clawhauser so someone would know where she was in case they needed her.

As she wandered through the halls she noticed all the older posters that promoted the ZPD. Some were even older than Chief Bogo. _I wonder what it was like to be a cop back then?_

As she got closer to the front of the building there were less posters and more pictures, awards and newspaper clippings that went to outstanding officers and some of the ZPD's greatest moments.

Judy's favorite among all these was the front page headline that read: 'ZPD hires first fox Officer; Nickolas Wilde. Mr. Wilde was crucial in solving the Missing mammals cases that were assigned to Officer Judy Hopps. Later he also played a huge part in assisting Hopps again as they exposed Bellwether's plan to turn prey against predators using the Night Howler serum…'

It still made the bunny feel giddy knowing that Nick and her were really working together to make the world a better place; it was a dream come true. Which reminded her; she needed to go get her favorite fox some coffee.

One brisk walk later, Judy arrived once again at the well-known receptionist desk. "Hey Clawhauser, I'm going to go and get some coffee. If anyone needs me; just call."

"Sure thing Judy, see you later." He waved goodbye but Judy couldn't help but notice that he looked a little nervous. She decided to brush it off and ask him about it later.

As she was heading out the revolving doors she saw Grizzoil leading a goat into the station. In his paw he was carrying a big net. She flicked her ears over in their direction to better hear what was being said.

"You said there was going to be more butterflies and I'm not seeing any. Where are they?!"

Grizzoil sighed. "Sir I never said there was going to be more of your imaginary butterflies, I just asked you to come with me because you were disturbing other people."

"You lie! You said there was going to be butterflies!"

Judy shook her head. There was never a dull moment around the station. With that interesting moment out of the way she started her little journey to the nearest Snarlbucks.

* * *

Nick slumped back in his desk chair. _That was one of the most mentally draining things I have ever done._ He shuddered as he reread what he wrote. Worst of all: the Chief was going to be reading it at some point. He needed a coffee or he wouldn't make it ten more minutes.

Just then the door opened and in walked Judy. "Hey Nick. Did you finish your report?" He nodded slowly. "Good, here is your reward." She held out a cup with the coffee that she had gotten.

He eyed it for a second; with the way the bunny had been acting she might be planning something. But it was free coffee. With the thought of free coffee in mind he couldn't resist and decided to accept the offered cup to take a sip. She had doctored it up the way he liked to whenever he spoiled himself, she had even added blueberry flavoring!

He hummed in satisfaction. "Thanks Carrots. I really needed this after what you put me through."

"It's what you get for being a good fox." She cooed in a baby voice.

Nick rolled his eyes at the bunny. "I'm going to have to do my paperwork more often if I get coffee like this."

He raised his eyes up to her in a pleading manner. "Would the nice bunny get the fox coffee every time he finishes his paperwork?" He replied in an equally exaggerated baby voice.

Judy just smirked at Nick's attempt to bribe her. "No, I was just feeling like being nice. This is a onetime deal."

Nick gave up the puppy eyed look. "Can't blame a fox for trying."

"You tried, and failed spectacularly. Now, it's almost time to go see if Bogo is available so we can follow up on these leads."

Nick groaned as he got up and stretched his back; acting like he was much older than he really was. Judy rolled her eyes at the display. They nodded at each other and left the office.

On their way to the third floor neither of the small officers said anything. They were both somewhat nervous about talking to the Chief; as he was rather intimidating. Even if he wasn't mad at Nick or something.

They were a great deal away from Bogo's office when they saw two elk and a deer all wearing black suits walk out of the office. Judy recognized them as ZBI agents. She looked at Nick and shrugged. He had already been looking at her and shrugged back.

They both knew they could get in serious trouble for sticking their noses in to the ZBI's business. The pair slowed down when the three walked past. Judy as subtly as possible turned her ears in the agents' direction. She heard only one sentence before they turned to go down the stairs and were out of earshot.

"What'd you hear?" Nick nudged her as he whispered.

"All I heard was that 'number one wasn't going to be happy.' Any ideas?" The fox just shook his head no.

* * *

Chief Bogo stood from his desk and walked over to the window. He hadn't had time to open the blinds this morning before his visitors had arrived. He opened the blinds and let in the sun shine. Bogo really enjoyed the light and hated to have his office dark more than necessary. Contrary to what many people thought. He stood there for a second enjoying the view, then sighed and rubbed his forehead. _Two hours and I already have a headache_.

He walked back to his desk to get an aspirin. He sat down and took a drink of coffee from a mug that said: 'Why? Because I'm the Chief!' Just as he was setting the mug down there was a knock at the door.

 _Knock knock knock knock_

"Come in Hopps." She had a tendency to knock really fast, so he knew who it was.

The door opened and Judy stuck her head in. "Chief, do you have a moment?"

"Yeah, come in and sit down." The door opened further and the fox and bunny walked in. They flanked both sides of the middle of the three chairs in the room and climbed on to it. "What's your status on the case?"

"We have a lead; that's actually why we're here sir. What do you know about the Silent Hand?"

"Grant and Ryan Snowlence? You think they're the ones behind this? That's not possible; they're still doing time." He paused had put a hand to his chin. "But the circumstances do match up to what they were doing. I'll give an order for the old case file for you; it should have all the information you should need."

Nick didn't want to read a case file. Especially one as big as the Silent Hand one could be. "Sir we would like to hear _your_ opinion on them, if you don't mind."

Bogo sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you some of the finer details. Ryan is a lynx/mountain lion cross. He's bigger than the average mountain lion but is the spitting image of a lynx. Grant is a polar bear. His family adopted Ryan when they were both two years old. There were no records of Ryan before then. We don't even know what happened to his original family."

The same as usual; Judy had her pen and note pad out and was writing everything the buffalo said down. Surprisingly; Nick also had a pen out and was taking notes too.

"They started their criminal occupation after their mother was having kidney failure. Their father had died a year before that. Ryan was the brains, and Grant was the muscle. Their little moving company wasn't big enough to make enough to pay for the cost of the surgery to save their mother. They ended up selling their company but it still didn't pay the full cost, and sadly their mother passed away shortly after. I'm assuming they turned to a life of crime because they didn't have anything left to lose, and there was big money involved.

I tracked them personally on and off for most of the beginning of my career. They're good; they never left a trace of evidence. It was just pure luck that I caught them. It was late and I had just come back from a night patrol. I had already dropped off my partner at his house and was just returning the keys to the car before I was going to go home myself. When I walked in the back door I'm face to face with these guys. You should have seen the looks on their faces." Bogo chuckled.

"It turns out they were commissioned to get their hands on some powder firearms. They were standing there with the whole ZPD armory in their hands. They just dropped what they were carrying and ran. It was quite a chase too, but I got them. The current Chief was ready to skin me alive for all the damages we caused to the station. But he was impressed and promoted me to Captain instead."

The buffalo had a full smile on his face, and to be honest it was kind of scaring the two tiny officers that were sitting in front of him. But as soon as the memory faded his face returned to its normal default scowl. The bunny and fox breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Nick stood up and stretched as if he had been sitting way longer that he had been. "I think that is all we need to know. We'll look at the case file if we need anything else. Now we're going to have to bid you adieu." He nudged Judy. "Come on carrots let's go."

"Wait a second Nick." The fox groaned. "Is there anything else you want us to do today?"

"If you're up to it I want you guys to head over to the academy and help with the mock search-and-rescue drill. Or you guys could be on parking duty for the rest of the day."

"What, why? You already gave us out assignments today!" The fox cried in exasperation.

Bogo just picked up his mug and before he took a drink said: "Read it and weep Wilde, read it and weep." He ended his statement with a smirk that even Nick was amazed at, and a wink.

"Will do sir." The bunny gave a crisp salute and jumped down. "Come on Nick."

Nick dropped his arms to his sides and started mumbling. "Fine, I guess I'll go do _more_ work."

As the door was closing behind them Bogo herd the bunny speak. "Don't be that way Nick. You remember how fun everyone says it is to be in on one of the drills, right? Just think of the possibilities!"

 _Why do I get the feeling I just made a huge mistake?_ The bovine thought with dread.

* * *

Soon after; the pair were back in their office reading through the case file. There was so much information that it was probably going to take them several days to get it sorted in to some usable evidence.

"You know Carrots, it would be faster and easier to go and see if we can talk to these guys tomorrow sometime."

"Yeah but they might not know anything; might not even be involved."

"Let's go get lunch and plan our attack."

The bunny laughed. "Guess we really do that don't we?"

"Yeah, it's kind of weird that everyone pays enough attention to know our pattern. I didn't even relies we did it until it was pointed out."

"You're right; that is weird. Anyway where would you like to eat?"

"Let's just eat here. I don't feel like spending a fortune on food."

"Sounds like a plan to me slick."

* * *

 **AN #2:**

 **Okay guys what did you think? How'd you like Bogo's mug? I'm thinking about making him have a different coffee mug every time he has an appearance. If you like that idea let me know in a comment. Also if you're feeling especially awesome and you have a funny coffee mug you'd like to see the chief use put that in a comment too.**

 **If any of you are feeling like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious people (I had to google that one XD) maybe like, share and fave this story. I've noticed a surge in the follow count since the last chapter was put up. To those who are new, welcome and a huge thank you! Thank you all for reading, following, favoriting and sharing! I know I say it a lot but you guys are awesome!**

 **Last thing a very very close friend of mine has started his own fanfiction account. His name is** **InkleCherrySeed.** **We've known each other for most of our lives. We're practically family. It would mean the world to me if you go and read his new story: Zootopia Black Rain. And give him a warm welcome to the community. Tell him I sent you if you do.**

 **Okay that's enough rambling for now. I'll see you all in the next chapter. The story is going to come out faster I promise. Until then *waves and gives thumbs up***

 **This is**

 **TheAssassin_2**

 **Sighing out.**


	7. It's a good day laddies!

**Welcome back to: Stand Together or Not at All! This is chapter seven should be a real funny one. Now without further delay *steps aside and does overly fancy bow flourish thingy***

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: (I'm doing another one of these.) I don't own Disney Zootopia or its characters. So quit asking if you can buy the rights to them.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

 **It's a good day laddies!**

* * *

Lunch had been completely uneventful for the fox and bunny cops. They just talked about what they were going to do for the rest of the day. And what they were planning for their off time. They did come to the decision they were going to go and interview Grant and Ryan some time tomorrow. If that didn't go anywhere they would start back at square one and wait and see if the surveillance cameras would see anything over at the observatory. Or maybe they would get a team together to stake out the building for a week or two. The last option was not their best, because it would be hard on everyone involved and would cost a lot.

That was two and half hours ago. The duo were sat in their cruiser; bunny driving and fox just watching the city disappear behind them. The academy was outside of the city to help avoid distractions for the recruits. It wasn't too far out of town; only about twenty miles out of the city limits.

They weren't actually going to the academy. They were going to a plot of land where the recruits did drills of many sorts, and some light riot training. Funny enough even though many people got hurt there, they called it safety valley. The name was a huge joke.

Neither Nick or Judy had been assigned to one of the mock search and rescue drills before. Plenty of their friends had been. And according to them it was incredibly fun. You could pretend to be hurt in almost any way you wanted. They even herd of when Wolford was still new to the station he had acted like someone with a mental disorder. He acted like a drunken pirate who called himself Captain Wafers. The story was still referred to by the instructor to this day.

The way this worked was the recruits had to first find, then either stabilize or get you transported to an extraction point for 'medical' attention. When everyone was found the people that were 'hurt' would grade them on their performance. First time recruits usually 'killed' the people they were trying to help.

Judy had had enough of the silence in the car; she needed to hear something other than the drone of the engine. "So, Nick what do you think I should do?"

Nick turned his head away from the passing trees and looked at Judy for a second before answering. "I'm not sure Carrots. We should probably ask Casey what he recommends."

Casey was the first aid instructor for the academy. He was an easy going guy but could get serous when the need arose. Both Nick and Judy were friends with him.

"I'm thinking about doing something different than usual. Kind of like what Wolford did, but not the same." The bunny explained as she turned down the road that would take them to the academy, then up to safety valley from there.

"I never thought you'd do something like that fluff. I'm supposed to be the one that does stuff like that. You're the one that's always so serious. It doesn't matter what it is you're doing you're always so serious about it." Nick turned his head towards Judy to continue but stopped.

Judy sat across from him with the most appalled look on her face. Her mouth was hanging open and you could clearly see her buck teeth. Nick had to fall back on his best hustler skills to not openly laugh at her.

It took a second for Judy to start yelling. "I'm not serious about EVERYTHING! You're the one who's always breaking the rules! If you didn't do that I wouldn't need to be so serious to keep _you_ in line. You should try being serious sometime! You might like it!" She was panting when she finished her little rant.

Nick just started from where he left off like she hadn't just yelled. "See what I mean? You're too serious. If you weren't so serious you wouldn't have just yelled at me like you just did. You would have laughed and said I was a slacker or something."

Judy was about to argue further but what Nick had said started to register in her head. Maybe she was a little bit too uptight and serious some times. She would have to work on that. _And what better time to start than right now?_ She would show Nick who the serious one was!

"I'm still doing something unusual. Whether I'm serious or not! I still know how to have fun."

Nick raised both eye brows and smiled. "Is that a challenge I hear? If so; what do you have in mind?"

"If Casey lets us, whoever can come up with the most random and off the wall symptom or ailment wins dinner tonight."

"How can I say no to free food? You're on Fluff." Nick stuck his paw out for Judy to shake, but she didn't.

"Not so fast Slick. First we need to lay down some ground rules. I don't feel like losing my job for doing something stupid, and I'm sure you don't either. First we can only do this if Casey says it's okay. Second no sabotaging each other to win."

Nick had a board expression on his face. "Are you done yet? Or are you going to continue to take all the fun out of this?"

"Oh shut up. You're enjoying this as much as I am, and you know it."

"You know Carrots I think you're right."

As they were talking they drove past the main academy grounds and were heading back into the trees again. It wasn't a long drive; about two and a half miles on a gravel road. They normally made the recruits walk up here. Usually they didn't allow cars down this road because of the damage they did when it was wet, but Nick and Judy were allowed in case they needed theirs for an emergency.

The road Y-ed about half way through and turned into a path that headed up a very steep hill, nicknamed Cardiac Hill. After it crested cardiac the road continued to snake around for another couple of miles before it looped back to the main grounds.

Both Nick and Judy remembered very well how hard it was just to reach the top of cardiac hill for the first time. And that was just the beginning. They still had another two miles to go. They had gotten to the point where they needed to do several laps up and around the hill.

In front of the duo was safety valley. It wasn't a very big valley. The mountains on both sides only went up about four hundred feet and they weren't super steep, nothing like cardiac. There was a path that cut off of the road that led to the right to the safety rock. Once again the safety rock was a joke because it was over fifty feet tall and straight up. No one ever climbed up there because a fall from there could kill.

In front of the safety rock stood Casey and Brock. Brock was the second first aid instructor.

Casey was a giraffe; he wasn't the tallest one ever but in comparison to Judy he was huge. He was wearing dark pants and a light green short sleeved shirt. On his face he wore oval shaped glasses.

Brock was a hyena; he stood slightly taller than average. He wore a gray tee shirt and olive green shorts.

They both were talking with each other until the cruiser pulled up and the fox and rabbit hopped out. Brock was the first one to start talking again.

"Well look what Bogo sent us. I was hoping for Wolford and his partner." He rubbed his paws together. "That would have been fun to watch."

"No Bogo sent his newest officers here to make fools of themselves. No use in tarnishing a perfectly good record that took years to get that way." Casey rambled.

Judy's ears snapped to full attention and she pointed at Casey. "Hey! We're not going to make fools out of ourselves. Well maybe Nick might, but I'm not!"

"That's what they all say. Any way this is going to be the last drill this set of recruits will be doing before they graduate. We've had other staff from around the academy playing the ones that are being searched for." Casey explained.

Brock picked up when Casey paused. "We want you guys to think of something more," He paused to consider what word to use. "Uncommon. Something that the odds of happening are pretty nonexistent."

The stars must have aligned knowing about the bet Nick and Judy had going. Which was weird, because nothing like that ever happened. Even when it _did_ happen it usually never turned out good.

Casey started talking again. "The reason we want you guys to do this is to make the recruits aware that anything can happen and to teach them to expect and be ready for it."

Nick and Judy were both nodding as he talked. Nick raised his arm, almost like he was back in grade school. Casey sighed and answered. "Yes Nick, what do you want?"

"Do you guys have any of those training epipens? I've got an idea of what I'm going to do." He got this wicked smile on his face. One which Judy knew _all_ too well. One that meant he was up to no good.

Brock turned around and started rummaging through a first aid kit that was sitting at the base of the safety rock. After a minute of rummaging and not finding anything, he started digging things out.

"That's some nice organization you've got there. What happened if you needed something fast and you couldn't find it?" The fox snarked, just like he did on his first day on the job. It even had the same effect on Judy because she covered her mouth to muffle a laugh and it came out as a snort. Which made Casey start laughing too.

"This is the kit we use to train the recruits; so it's kind of a mess. If you're lucky we won't need to use it if anything goes stupidly wrong. Which it probably will because of what we're letting you guys do today. So shut up and stop laughing!"

"So you guys _are_ planning on us getting hurt!" Nick accused, acting offended.

Brock turned around with an epipen in his paw and crossed his arms before he retaliated. "Oh yeah we do this every time a new group graduates this course. We have people come in from different Precincts. And usually we have at least one person leave with at the _very_ least some bruises."

Nick was starting to get nervous now, but he wasn't going to let it show. As usual he just slipped behind his mask. "So what's the worst you've had happen?"

Brock looked up at Casey. "What would you say; that was Mark?" Casey nodded. "Mark is a tiger and we had three wolves try to carry him back here and they dropped him down there." He pointed to a ledge not far from the group, a little up the hill behind the safety rock. "He broke his arm in three different places, spent three days in the hospital."

Judy had a horrified look on her face. "That's horrible! How can you guys let that happen?!"

Casey smiled. "Okay Brock; that's enough. I think you've scared them enough."

The hyena sighed. "Man I had them going. And you had to go and ruin it! Fine I was just messing with you guys. The worst that has ever happened was Wolford got tackled and got a couple of bruises."

It was common knowledge that Brock liked to kid around _almost_ as much as Nick, but that was just because Judy was around to keep him in line. If anyone let him; Brock would spin the wildest of tails just to see them squirm. Then laugh until he was blue in the face about it when he broke the news to the unlucky person that they had been played like a fiddle during harvest season.

Judy crossed her arms and tried to send Brock a glair that could make the chief sweat… but failed so badly it just made her look more funny than mad. "That wasn't funny!"

Brock just started laughing. "It's always the best part when they argue that it's not funny."

Casey crossed his arms. "Brock that's enough. Nick, Judy you'd best get into your positions. I can hear the recruits coming." He took the epipen from Brock and tossed it to Nick who caught it. "You guys got five minutes before we turn them loose. Better think of something good."

The fox and bunny turned and started walking down a path that led down the valley. It weaved through a small grove of aspen trees. "Nick what are you planning on doing with that epipen?" She was slightly nervous about it even though it was just a trainee and didn't have a needle, more so the plan Nick had for it.

"Well Carrots I'm going to…" He trailed off. "You know what I'm going to make it a surprise."

Judy crossed her arms and harrumphed. "Fine I won't tell you what I'm planning then."

"Okay." The reply was short and simple. The fox was hoping to aggravate Judy by seaming uncaring.

"Okay? Okay! That's all you got to say?"

He shook his head. "Uh-huh."

She through her paws in the air. "Unbelievable." She put her paws down and started muttering under her breath. "Insufferable, smug, big headed."

"What was that dear?"

"Oh nothing." She turned her head and muttered: "Dumb fox."

The path split to go several different directions. "Well I'm going to go over here. Bye Carrots. Try not to die without me." Nick veered off to the right and shortly after disappeared behind some trees.

 _Unbelievable._ She shook her head. Sometimes she could not imagine why she loved him. Maybe it was because he _was_ unbelievable. She hated being afraid of telling him how she felt. She always tried to conquer her fears. So why couldn't she tell Nicholas Wilde she loved him? It was a fear unlike anything she had ever felt before. Maybe that was why.

Judy continued walking not really knowing what she was going to do for the drill. She was really enjoying the quiet and the fresh air. She loved Zootopia; it was her home, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy coming out to the country every once and a while. The trees around her were getting taller the farther she went.

The trees reminded her of that time Bobby Catmull climbed up that tree in the school yard; when she was seven years old. That was before he had started playing instruments. She still looked back at the moment with fond memories. She had used the teacher's laser light to lure bobby back down the tree. That's where she got the Junior ZPD officer sticker. It was given to her by a tiger officer that she could not for the life of her remember the name of.

But thinking of Bobby and high places gave her an idea. Maybe she could climb one of the trees. No, no one else would be able to climb up after her. There was the old storage shed that was at the edge of the drill perimeter. It was still sturdy it could would work.

Mind finally made up about what ridiculous thing she would be doing, she started jogging out to the shed. It wasn't far only about two hundred yards, not even enough to make the rabbit breath hard.

The shed was huge for what it was really. If was designed with medium animals in mind. and was big enough that Judy could live in it comfortably in comparison to the place she was living in now. It had a tin roof that was almost too steep for what she wanted to do, but it would still work.

It was still too tall for her to climb straight up. Even being a bunny and having the ability to jump almost twice as high as she was tall. Judy didn't have the powers of spider fox. So she was going to have to find another way to get up there. There was however a few trees that were growing right next to the building. _Those will work perfectly._

A very short climb later she was right above the shed. She would need to jump a ways to get the rest of the way over. So she climbed higher than the shed so she could drop on top of it.

"Okay here we go; one, two, three." She pushed off the tree. She felt her stomach do a flip before she hit the roof. Upon impact she felt the bruise she had gotten from Jason Reed earlier that week flair with pain. "Aww man, I thought that had gone away. I have to admit that ram sure could pack a punch." She took a considerable amount of her wait off her leg and the pain started to dull.

She looked up and saw a familiar fox across the valley. He had his paws in his pockets and was just walking around, like he was taking a stroll in the park.

* * *

 **Over with Nick**

* * *

Nick's plan was going smoothly, especially since Judy wasn't around anymore. Her being gone was going to make the act more convincing. At first he had no clue what he was going to do. On the drive over he had been planning to have fallen down one of the many cliffs, and was going to pretend to have a broken back and legs. But plans usually change, and that one certainly did.

Nick's new plan was more of a memory of something that had happened to his seventh grade social studies teacher. She had an allergy to alcohol and anything made with alcohol in it. One such thing was Tuxk spray-on sent neutralizer, which just so happened to be alcohol based. One of the students walked into the class room wearing an excess amount of the stuff, and she had a reaction to it. It wasn't a life threatening reaction; but she lost her voice for the rest of the day.

Nick wasn't one hundred percent sure if any of the recruits that he would be around would be wearing an alcohol based sent neutralizer. If they weren't he'd have to make something up. Maybe he'd just be allergic to the recruits themselves. That would save him the trouble of having to try and smell if they were wearing a sent neutralizer or not.

He nodded his head. _Yeah, that would work._

Off in the distance he could hear Casey yelling out instructions to the recruits. He couldn't hear exactly what he was saying. Something about the perimeter of the drill, and not to cross it again. If Judy was around she could tell him what Casey had said. She had bunny ears so she could hear better than him.

Nick could hear some of the recruits starting to comb through the trees. So he did what any other person would do when they were out in the country, and kept walking along enjoying the beauty of the forest.

He was in a dried up creek bed at the moment. He could see several paths to get up and out further ahead. Along the old banks; willow bushes were still growing in excess. The paths he could see only smaller mammals could get through. This was the perfect place for his plan. All he needed to do was wait.

And it didn't take long as he could hear people coming just a short distance away. Soon a lion a bear an elephant and a couple wolves came into view.

One of the wolves saw Nick first. "Guys he's over here!"

The bear spoke next in a surprisingly high pitched voice for his size. "Sir are you in need of assistance?"

Nick jumped and turned around like he hadn't heard them walk up on him. He put on a smile that he hoped didn't look like he was planning something evil. "Oh hi! You guys must be the group of kids me and my partner are here to teach. Say have any of you seen her around? She's about this tall." He measured to his chest height with his paw. "Has big ears, and is probably still wearing a police uniform."

Nick was pulling out all the stops for this one. His best chance of success was if he could get the group in front of him to think he was perfectly fine. The best way to do that was to keep changing the subject.

The tiger raised his large paw. "Sir-" but he couldn't finish what he was going to say.

The fox raised both paws and waved them. "Where are my manors? What would my mother say if she were here now? Stop with the sir thing, it's way too formal." He held out his paw. "My name's Nick Wilde."

He walked forward to the group with a paw out. Surprisingly one of the wolves reached out to return the paw shake with a smile. The final piece in this puzzle had just clicked into place.

Nick grasped the paw the wolf held out for him. He sniffed once. Then twice. He could smell a sent neutralizer on the wolf in front of him. "You know, you guys smell funny. Is that?" His voice died in his throat and is eyes widened.

Nick started coughing. At first it was a dry cough then it turned more into a wheeze. While this was happening the recruits surrounded Nick. One of the wolves was holding Nick's shoulder; giving him support. Suddenly Nick dropped to his knees and is wheezing got worse.

"He's going into anaphylactic shock! Lance! Get an Epipen! Now!"

The elephant, who had been carrying the same first aid kit Brock had been digging through earlier, dropped the bag and started digging furiously through it.

Nick jerked and fell on to his back where he clutched his throat and convulsed like a fish out of water. Nick very suddenly started tearing at a pocket on his pants. Nick made the decision that to make the act more vivid he would have to rip at his pants to get the pen he had.

Nick clawed so hard at his pocket that he actually ripped through the fabric to get the pen. Once in his paw he started fumbling with the case it came in.

It was standard protocol for an epipen to come in a case, and with a safety installed to make it harder for children to accidentally give themselves a shot. But when you can't breathe, the case and the safety which was pretty complex was almost impossible to get apart.

Thankfully the wolf that had shook Nick's paw saw the pen as soon as Nick had it out of his pocket. He immediately acted by trying to get it from the crazed fox. But there was a problem with that; Nick held on to the pen for dear life. Rightly so, what would you do if someone was trying to take your only chance of survival away?

After a second of tug of war the wolf managed to get it away from Nick. The fox just started convulsing worse than ever. In steady, but shaking paws; the wolf ripped the pen out of its case, pulled the safety pen and stuck it in Nick's thigh.

It was a trainee so all it did was make a loud click. Within ten seconds Nick had stilled and was breathing again. He had never really stopped breathing but he had disguised it with the thrashing about he had been doing.

From start to finish the whole thing only lasted maybe forty seconds. But it had felt like longer as the whole group was breathing hard.

The recruits formed a circle around the fox. Eventually he stood up on shaky legs. Several of them grabbed on to him to give support so he didn't fall. He stood there for a second but started to walk. Almost as if he was walking off a pain.

When Nick was in the academy and had to do these drills they had gone over the use of epipens and what the side effects were. Immediately after injection the person that had the injection was supposed to be held down. The reason for this was clear if you knew what the eip in epipen stood for. It stood for epinephrine, also known as adrenaline. A normal amount of adrenaline usually made someone feel giddy and sometimes excited. The amount of epinephrine injected by an epipen was substantially more than what your body would release in one go.

Sometimes after a massive scare like going into anaphylactic shock and the flood of adrenaline in the blood stream could make some people have uncontrollable muscle movements. Sometimes it would also give the feeling of being intoxicated. All of these things combined could cause someone to act as if they were drunk and were having the biggest sugar rush of their life. Not a good combo.

Nick turned around and looked at the group of people behind him. Since he had gotten up a horse and a raccoon had shown up to help after having heard the commotion. Nick's tail started to twitch uncontrollably; exactly like a cat's would. A smile started to appear on his face. A smile that said; 'you just made one of the worst mistakes of your life.'

Suddenly he stood up straight, pointed a finger in the air and declared: " **It's a good day laddies!"** Then he turned in a flash and was running away. He crawled right through one of the small paths in the willows and was gone.

* * *

 **Back with Judy**

* * *

Judy had watched the whole scene with Nick with only mild concern. He sure put on a convincing act. If this wasn't a drill she would have probably had a heart attack with how bad it would have scared her.

She couldn't watch the 'dying' fox for long however because a small group of people had just came into view. There was an antelope, bison and a wood chuck. The antelope was the first one to spot Judy up on the building. Very soon after they were gathering around.

The wood chuck waved his paws to get Judy's attention. "Ma'am are you okay? Do you need help getting down?"

Judy looked down with a puzzled look on her face. After she heard the question she shook her head; no.

"I'm sorry ma'am. Was that no to; 'are you okay' or 'do you need help getting down."

Judy had to try hard not to smile evilly. Again she shook her head this time; yes.

The wood chuck sighed in frustration but kept his composure and a level voice. "Ma'am we're going to help you get down from there and take you to see a doctor. Is that alright?" Judy shook her head no again, this time very slowly.

The bunny was still standing up and her hip was starting to bother her again. With the angle she was having to stand to keep from falling down.

Because of her elevated height she could still see Nick even though he had walked away from his small group. His tail had started to make some weird movements. She couldn't see it from the distance she was at, but Judy could swear he was smiling the best 'you just got hustled' smile she had ever seen. What he did next she was not expecting at all.

"It's a good day laddies!" the fox yelled.

Judy's mouth dropped open as Nick turned and ran away from the recruits that were trying to help him. It started as a snort but she couldn't help it and started laughing at the cries and yells of the recruits.

"He's getting away!"

"Get the fox!"

"Why's he running?!"

"I don't know!"

"Help!"

The bison turned around. "What in the world?"

The antelope put a hoof on the bison's shoulder before she could leave to go and chase after Nick. "Stop Becky. The others can handle it. You're the tallest of us, we need you here."

"Yeah, right okay."

Meanwhile up on the roof Judy was still laughing herself to death. She had tears in her eyes and her side was starting to hurt. The bunny was so busy laughing she subconsciously straightened her leg out.

It was sudden; it shocked everyone there; especially Judy. Her leg cramped. "aah!" she curled up and grabbed her leg. Without the use of her now cramped leg she lost balance on the roof and fell. First she hit the roof with a bang. Which hurt her hip and leg even more. Then she started sliding down the slope of the roof from the peek.

At the edge of roofs there is something called drip edge. This is installed to prevent water from rain or snow from dripping along the underside of the roof and into the building. If it was installed properly a person couldn't even tell it was there.

The drip edge was installed properly on this roof. The only thing that made it obvious was a row of tin screws on the very edge of the roof, each about two feet apart. It was one of these screws that caused many problems for the sliding rabbit. Unfortunately for Judy she slid right over one if the screws.

Falling on the roof, sliding down it and right over a jagged screw. All this happened so fast Judy didn't even really know what was happening until she was actually falling through open air. She barely had time to open her mouth to scream when just as suddenly as she had started falling she stopped.

In her fall she had managed to roll herself into a ball to maybe somehow make the impact with the ground hurt her less. Slowly she untangled her arms and lifted her head. She was sitting in a pair of hoofs. The Bison had caught her. She looked up to see her concerned face

"Are you alright?" She asked.

Judy nodded her head. "Yeah. I'm fine."

After the bison set her on the ground the back of her leg, right above her knee, started itching up a storm. When she reached down to itch it she found her pants torn from the back of the knee do the middle of her calf. Upon further inspection she discovered a relatively deep cut right above her knee.

"Huh. How'd that happen?" Despite the fact that there was a three inch cut that was bleeding rather badly, Judy remained quite calm about the whole thing. This wasn't the first time she had hurt herself, nor was it the worst. "Any of you guys have something to make a tourniquet?"

* * *

 **Back with Nick,** _ **again**_

* * *

To say Nick was having fun was an understatement. He was having the time of his life. It reminded him of his high school track days. Him and Flash sure broke some records back then. _Good times, good times._

He was really having a hard time keeping himself from laughing at all the yelling that the recruits were doing in their panic to catch him.

"He's getting away!"

"Get the fox!"

"Why's he running?!"

"I don't know!"

"Help!"

Nick allowed a couple of chuckles as he ran up the south side of Safety Valley. The fox didn't want to get any of the recruits in trouble for taking them out of the perimeter of the drill. So he started running horizontal along the hill instead of up.

Nick's little sprint didn't last long because he was starting to get a little bit winded. So he slowed to a fast jog. He could still hear his search and rescue group crashing through the woods behind him. He knew he would not be able to jog for long.

While he was jogging he could enjoy more of the stunning views the valley surrounding him had to offer. It was a little bit of a drive from the city so it was nearing sun set. He would have loved to have seen it during the fall. The way Judy had told him about the trees changing colors made him want to spend more time out here. He had never really been able to truly see what fall looked like in the country. He was a city fox after all.

Maybe he could con Judy into taking him to her family's house for Thanksgiving. _Why would she do that? I'm just her work partner._ Nick hated to admit it but this sounded logical to him. Why would Judy want to bring him to a family holiday when he was just her partner from work?

Last night when they were at dinner he had suggested, unintentionally of course, that he might visit with her. She never said no, of course him and George were teasing her to no end, so she never really had the chance to say no. But! She never said no. Which meant there was hope.

For far too long in Nick's life he had forgotten what hope was and what it meant. For years on end he just lived day to day just accepting that this was his lot in life; his hand of cards he'd been dealt. The only thing he really hoped was to make enough money to pay the rent. And that wasn't that prevalent. He had his bridge to go back to; it was free.

It wasn't until after Judy had given up her job. (He didn't know at the time) That he wondered the streets of Savanna Central hoping to see her giving out tickets to some unfortunate mammal. He had felt terrible about the way he had reacted to her answers at the press conference and at least wanted to apologize to her.

That was how the feeling of hope seeped back into his life again. The hope to at least make amends. Now it was the smallest chance ever but he still hoped that maybe by some impossible miracle Judy might love him back like he loved her. It was that hope that made him get up in the morning. Maybe, just maybe; there could be something more.

No longer would Nick Wilde just accept that this was his 'lot in life'. He had hope in his life again. And until the time came to act on that hope, it was enough to just keep that hope alive.

Broken from his deep thoughts Nick realized he had slowed down to a slow jog. Soon enough the pair of wolves were close enough for Nick to look over his shoulder and see them. So once again he picked up the speed. He hadn't been running again for long when he decided to mix things up a bit.

To lessen the strain on his legs and to make gravity do more work for him Nick turned and started following a path straight down the mountain. Nothing could go wrong. It was just another run at the academy. Everything _was_ going just fine for the fox until he heard a crash in the distance.

"aah!"

"Judy?!" Nick knew her voice anywhere. He knew they both were at a mock search and rescue drill and were supposed to act hurt. The yell he just heard was not fake.

Everything was a blur for the next few seconds for Nick. Everything just happened so fast. Nick's cry which, really didn't do anything to him. Then he had stopped focusing on the path he was using and didn't see the pile of rocks in it. This did two things. First Nick wasn't by any means a slow runner and he had practically been sprinting down the hill. So when he made contact with the first rock in his path, he stepped down wrong and something in his knee exploded with pain. Second the rock he stepped on rolled out from underneath him as soon as he made contact with it. The result was the fox literally rolling head over tail down the side of a small mountain.

In less than two seconds Nick was ten feet down the hill sitting on his tail wondering how on earth he had gotten down here so fast. And why his knee was hurting so bad. Luckily for him the grass had softened the fall so the only thing that was hurt was his knee and his pride.

Nick shook his head to clear the dizziness that was plaguing him at the moment. _That was kind of stupid._ He looked to his left and saw one of the wolves running towards him.

He held up his paws to shield himself. "Don't tackle me! I'm not playing around anymore. I've really hurt my knee. You guys need to help me get back to the safety rock."

The first wolf was still panting as the second one reached the pair of them. It was the first wolf, the one that shook Nick's paw that spoke. "How do we know you're not going to try and pull something again?"

"You should know that if I was going to try something again you guys are supposed to stop me and get back to the safety rock to get medical attention for me." Nick didn't mean to be so rude about it but he was worried about Judy.

"You know he's got a point Brandon. Let's get him back." The second wolf said.

"Alright Scott let's get going." Answered the wolf deemed Brandon.

"Next time we have to do something like this. How bout you don't go shaking paws and sending people into anaphylactic shock." Scott scolded.

Brandon's ears fell. "Sorry, I was just trying to be friendly."

As the two wolves helped Nick stand and start walking, the fox started talking. "You didn't do anything wrong Brandon. Often times the best thing you can do in a situation where someone is hurt is try to calm them down and be friendly. Sometimes it makes a world of difference to be a friend to someone that needs one. The only thing you guys didn't do was hold me down after you gave me the epipen."

"Where did you learn to run like that Nick?" Scott asked changing the subject.

"Well I used to be a track runner back in high school with my good buddy Flash…"

* * *

 **At the Safety Rock**

* * *

Brock and Casey were both reclined in folding chairs they had stashed behind the Safety rock. They could both agree that this was one of the funniest jobs they had ever had. It never ceased to be interesting how many ways recruits could always manage to screw up one of these drills. The hyena and giraffe were busy laughing at the ruckus Nick had somehow managed to cause.

"So do you think Nick will come back hurt somehow?" Brock asked.

Casey shook his head. "Nah, I think Judy might though."

"What makes you think that? She's so by the books, she probably decided to do the heat stroke thing."

"I'm not so sure. When you push her buttons right, she can get rather carried away to prove her point. And from what I've heard that fox knows exactly how to do that."

Brock smiled. "You want to bet on it?"

Casey sat up and looked at Brock over his glasses. "What kind of bet you talking about?"

"Twenty says the fox comes back hurt in some way."

"I'll take those odds. You're on!" They shook on it and it was official.

They both sat for all of three minutes until Casey broke the silence. "You know, what have our lives come to if we're betting money that the actors for our drills are going to get hurt or not?"

"I don't know. I'm just board aaand looking to make a quick buck."

"You're always looking to make a quick buck!"

Brock lowered his ears like he was ashamed. "Yeah you're probably right."

"You're not going to stop doing it are you?"

"Nope! I don't plan on it."

"Hey would you look at that."

Brock looked where Casey already was, and gasped at what he saw. Judy and a group of the recruits were making their way back. And anyone could clearly see a bandage around her leg up from where she was being carried by the bison.

"Looks like I win pay up." Casey was holding out his hoof waiting for his prize.

"Hold up! I see Wilde and he doesn't look much better than the rabbit does." He was right. Nick's uniform was rumpled and dirty with grass stains all over. Not only were his clothes disheveled but his fur was too. He looked like he was in a fight and had lost.

"Well who wins if they're both hurt?" They both looked at each other and shrugged.

Nick's group, the bigger of the two, arrived at their destination first. Nick had an arm draped over both of the wolves' shoulders. Because they were so tall in comparison to the fox his foot paws were dangling about a foot in the air.

Even so the fox still seemed to be in high spirits. "It's true that Flash was a sloth. He's the fastest sloth you'll ever see."

Brandon rolled his eyes. "I don't know about you Scott, but I think we're having our tails pulled again."

"I swear I'm not pulling your tails. Here, hey Carrots! Tell these two I'm not lying about Flash." He called to the bunny who had just been carried into talking range.

Despite having the cut on her leg Judy was also in a good mood. She was proud of the group that had found her. They had all kept calm and had handled the situation masterfully. Being around the annoyingly hansom fox again did nothing but increase her mood.

"I'm going to side with Nick this time. Flash really is a sloth that raced track with Nick when they were in high school."

Nick laughed in victory. "See, I told you!"

"She's your partner; she'll side with you on anything." Scott pouted.

Nick shook his head and sighed. "Fine, you'll just have to meet him to believe me. Drop on by the Savanna Central DMV, ask for Flash. Then see what you have to say."

The two groups, now one big one, continued walking until they at last made it back to the Safety Rock. Nick and Judy were both gently placed back on the ground.

Casey and Brock had both stashed their folding chairs before anyone could see them. Now the instructors were both standing with their arms crossed in front of their chests. Since Nick hurt his left leg and Judy her right, they helped the other hobble up in between Casey and Brock.

Casey raised his voice to get the attention of everyone there. "Alright guys. Nice work on the speed; that was something you needed to improve since last time. Now I'll let Nick and Judy tell you how you guys did on taking care of them."

"After you Carrots."

"Well thank you Nick." She laid on the sarcasm thick. "Okay guys, I can't complain about the treatment I got. You guys were calm and collected and there wasn't any yelling. You guys handled my cut like champs even though there wasn't supposed to be any real injuries in this drill."

Becky the bison raised a hoof. "Why were you on the roof?"

"Aaaa I never really thought about why. I was just trying to make it as hard as possible for you to get me down. It would have worked better if I hadn't of fallen."

When she mentioned this she could feel Nick tense up. She elbowed him to tell him she was fine and to tell him it was his turn to talk.

Nick put his free paw to his chin. "So what did you guys do wrong?" He asked himself. "The only thing you did wrong was not holding me down after you gave me the epipen. Those things have epinephrine, also known as adrenaline in them. Lots of adrenaline and a life threatening scare like severe anaphylactic shock can make people do some crazy things. Its better safe than sorry to hold them down, otherwise they can hurt themselves; like I did."

"Is that everything you have to say?" Casey asked. Nick and Judy nodded. "Well you guys get down to the med lodge and have Jerry look at your legs. Thanks for helping us out today."

"Sure thing Casey." Judy replied.

"I'll see you later Brock." Nick gave him finger guns.

The pair then started hobbling back to their cruiser. It was actually really hard to do. It was like a three leg race where if you use the third leg you're in great pain. If they were under better circumstances both Nick and Judy would have enjoyed the excuse for some physical contact with the other. They would never tell the other that though.

Once they made it back to the road and their car they climbed in the driver's door because neither wanted to walk around the cruiser. Once Nick was seated in the driver's position he picked Judy up and set her over in the passenger's seat.

They were silent for a few seconds. Some body needed to say something. With a sigh Judy decided it was going to be her.

"Are you okay Nick?" She was rather nervous about asking. She didn't know why, but there was a tension in the air

"I'll live. But I should be asking you the same question. Did you really fall off a roof?"

"Maybe." Judy tried to hide her smile, she really did. But Nick could still see it.

"Why do you think it's funny?" He reached his paw out and Judy handed him the keys.

"I don't think me falling off a building is funny. I just think it's _cute_ how worked up you're getting about it." She started giggling.

Nick scoffed. "I'm not getting worked up!"

"Then why are you yelling? You're getting defensive about something."

Nick looked over at Judy. The smirk she had on her face said everything she didn't. It also was making it impossible to try and talk his way out of this one. He looked away and sighed.

"Fine, I was worried, about, you." He mumbled hesitating between words.

"Well there's nothing to worry about but your knee. My leg will heal in a week or so. If you don't do something about yours, you're going to be on desk duty for a month while you recover. If you're on desk duty, I'll probably be on desk duty too. Worse yet we might even be on bathroom duty." Both the small officers shuddered at the thought.

"Okay Carrots, let's get going. Are you going to be a right?" He started the engine and started driving the opposite direction they had come.

"Yes Nick, I'll be fine." Judy was touched by just how much Nick was concerned for her. _Maybe there's more to how he feels about me than I realized._ She didn't know for sure, but she could hope.

* * *

Nick and Judy crept through the revolving doors at the front of the ZPD. Well crept as best they could with their hurt legs. They had taken Casey's advice and had gone to the academy med lodge. Instead of having to drive all the way back to Zootopia to go to a hospital.

While there they had gotten treatment. Judy had gotten eleven sutures and was good to do light work. Nick on the other paw was another story. He had stretched the PCL ligament in his knee. Since it wasn't completely torn there wasn't much a person could do. All Nick got was a brace and a set of crutches. He would however not need the crutches for long; four days max. But he would be wearing the brace for a while.

Now all they needed to do was inform the chief of their current state and then they would be off for the rest of the night. Both the tiny officers were not looking forward to the task.

Since it was night time the ZPD had slowed down, but not much. The main difference was it was quieter. Neither the fox or bunny were ever around at this time of the evening because they usually went home with the rest of the day shift.

Nick had been struggling with his crutches since he had gotten them. Another unstable step and he almost lost balance, _again_. "How do you work these things?!" He muttered in quite exasperation.

Judy cast the fox a look of amusement. It wasn't often she saw him frustrated with anything. "Don't worry; you'll get used to them in no time."

Once again he started muttering beneath his breath. "Curse your bunny hearing."

"I heard that too." She said in a sing song voice.

Nick shook his head and quit talking altogether. They continued limp walking to the elevator.

On the way up Nick grew tired of the silence. "How are we supposed to tell the chief about today?"

Judy sighed before she answered. "I'm just going to tell him what happened and that we were told to do it."

Nick tried to cross his arms but couldn't because of the crutches. "And that's supposed to work; how?"

Judy glared at the fox. "I don't know. Do you have any better ideas?" She threw her arms up and started walking around the small room of the elevator. She did have fun today but she would admit that what she did was pretty stupid and she was starting to regret it.

"Don't worry Carrots it'll all turn out okay."

Judy sighed; he was right, it would straighten it's self out. Her getting flustered about it would only make things worse; she needed to calm down. "Okay Nick. I'm sorry; I got a little excited there."

She was looking at him with the biggest most beautiful eyes. There was no way he could fault her. "No worries Fluff." He paused and looked away. "So we're just going to tell him what happened?"

"Yeah, I guess." The elevator doors opened with a ding. "Well best get it over with fast."

When she had said that she was not expecting it to happen. When Nick knocked on the big ominous glass door it opened almost immediately. It opened so fast and suddenly that it made Judy jump.

In the door way stood the looming form of Chief Bogo. He must have been on his way out when they knocked because he had a black jacket draped over his shoulder, which would explain why the door opened so fast. He looked down to see the battle worn cops in front of him. _Of all the dumb things I've done._ _Why did I ever send those two out there? I could have sent anyone else, but no._ He just looked down at them not saying a word. He could see them start to fidget as they got more nervous.

Judy started first. "Chief, look about earlier-"

He held up a hoof silencing the rabbit. He considered punishing them. _Unpaid leave might do the trick. No it's still Monday they would miss a whole week of pay. I can't do that._ _I could do payed leave. The way Hopps is about her job, it would kill her to get payed to do nothing. I bet she will drag Wilde down with her so he can't enjoy his punishment._ He had a hard time not laughing.

"I don't want to hear your excuses, nor do I care. You're on leave for the rest of the week. I don't want to hear a peep from either of you until next Monday. Got it!" They both shook their heads. "Good. Dismissed!"

He marched off quite satisfied with his decision. He just killed three birds with one stone. They would be out of his hair, they could heal _and_ they were getting punished all at the same time. It was going to be a quite week.

Judy ran after Bogo. "Sir, what about the case?"

"I'm sure Wolford can take care of anything that comes up. If it is really that urgent I'll have him call you guys back in. Now it's past your quitting time, go home and relax." He actually smiled before he turned to leave.

Nick hobbled up behind Judy. "You know I like the part about relaxing. But we have something that needs to be settled first."

Judy looked up at him with a look of dread on her face. "And what would that be?"

He smirked. The same smirk that made Judy want to slap and kiss him at the same time. "Who won our bet?"

* * *

 **AN:**

 **Hello everybody and welcome back to the part where I usually ramble. But not this time. It's going to be short! XD**

 **First: Super huge shout out to anyone that went to camp Alexander in Colorado this summer 2017. An even bigger shout out to the staff that worked there with me. I miss you guys.**

 **Second: the mock drill scenarios that I described in this chapter; weren't fake. They really took place in real life. I played in one of the ones I described myself. If you can guess which of the three I was in I'll give a shout out to you.**

 **Third: a question if I may. This might influence the story a little bit. Since I don't know how to do polls on FanFiction and Deviantart just answer in the comments. Who won the bet? Who's crazy scenario won: Nick's or Judy's?**

 **I know other authors say this all the time, and I know I say it a lot too. But thank you guys so much for reading faving following etc. I don't think it will ever fail to make my day better and put a smile on my face knowing you guys and gals like what I'm doing. Thank you guys! I'll see you all next time. :)**


	8. Part 1: Past Regret

**Welcome back To Stand Together or Not at All! This is chapter eight I'm planning on confusing you guys in this one. *evil laugh***

 **Hey guys guess what? I got an editor! *Happy dance* It's my absolute pleasure and honor to present InkleCherryseed as my editor.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

 **Part 1: Past Regret**

* * *

 **Note: I'm going to try the chapter quote thing.**

 **Life is pain, so stand up, walk it off and keep going- Roger Rowe**

* * *

Nick stat in the hospital room trying to contemplate what had happened in the last weeks. He looked across the room to the bed with the small bunny in it. She was still asleep. She was lucky that was all that has happened to her so far. More problems might arise in the future however.

For days now Nick has sat just watching her he couldn't stand to leave for longer that it took to use the bathroom. Not after what happened.

He never expected what happened, never.

It all started Monday at the drill. And then it spiraled out of control since then without them even knowing it, until it was too late.

* * *

 **Monday night Weazer's Wings and Things**

* * *

It was agreed that Nick and Judy would eat at Weazer's again. This ended up making the small cat tease them about the second date. He even went as far as to try to play romantic music.

But they still had a problem; who would be paying? It was up to George to decide. So as they ate they retold their epic tale. Several times George couldn't contain himself and started laughing at both Nick and Judy. They didn't find it very funny themselves.

"So George, who won?" Nick asked as he put his fork down.

"Well let me think, Nick. Nick won, hands down. I'm sorry Judy -yours was great- but I don't think anything can beat 'it's a good day laddies'."

Judy was rather calm about having just received the news that she had just lost the bet. "You're not picking Nick because you guys were friends when you were little?" George shook his head. "Fine, I guess it's fair. You win Nick, congratulations."

"Thank you Carrots. I couldn't have done it without you."

Judy rolled her eyes. "Of course not."

* * *

Looking back on it Nick wished he had never made that damned bet. At the time it seemed so harmless and a good way to have some fun with Judy, weather he won or not. But he had won, and she had payed. In more ways than one. Her paying for food was one thing. But what happened was another.

How could he have known? He couldn't have. But that didn't change the fact that he wished he could have done something different.

Again he laid eyes on the form of Judy on the bed across from him. She had been asleep for eleven days. He had been asleep too but for only two days.

He looked down at the bandages around his mid-section and the other around his shoulder. Sure they hurt, but he would endure more if it would have saved Judy the pain she was now going through.

* * *

 **Tuesday Morning Nick's apartment**

* * *

The sun had yet to rise in to the sky to say it was morning. It was getting there but not quite. Nick was still sound asleep in his bed enjoying the fact that he wouldn't need to get up so early.

 _Buzz_

It was his phone, he'd gotten a text. The sound didn't really disturb the fox all that much. It had brought him out of deep sleep but it didn't wake him up.

After a moment silence once again was the prevalent sound and Nick started to drift back into a deeper sleep.

 _Buzz_

This time it woke him up. Very slowly, without even picking his head up off the pillow Nick reached out and started fumbling with the accursed phone. First he had to disconnect it from the charger. Which was quite a task for the half asleep fox.

When at last he brought the phone to his view he saw two texts. Right as he was about to open them another one came in with a buzz.

He tapped the icon and three texts from "Carrots" popped up. The fox sighed, of course without work to occupy her Judy was going to pester him.

5:32 J: Good morning slick Nick.

5:35 J: Nick are you awake? If not you need to wake up. I'm bored and need someone to talk to.

5:37 J: Wake up Nick. I'm not going to stop texting until you do.

Nick sighed again. _This is going to be one of_ those _days isn't it?_

5:39 N: Come on Carrots I was asleep. Why are you texting at 5:30 in the morning?

5:39 J: I'm bored and I got tired of listening to the Bucky and Pronk show twenty minutes ago.

5:40 N: So? You're always bored.

5:40 J: No I'm not that's you!

5:40 N: Yeah I don't care.

5:40 N: I'm going to turn this phone off now and go back to sleep.

5:41 J: Don't you dare! So help me I'll come over there and put an ice cube down your back!

5:41 N: Good bye Carrots. ;)

5:41 J: Nick?

5:41 J: Nick are you still there?

5:43 J: Are you messing with me or something?

5:45 J: You aren't messing with me are you?

5:45 J: Well fox, you just killed yourself. :(

Nick just rolled his eyes and turned his phone off so it wouldn't make noise. After putting it back on the night stand he laid back and pulled the covers back up and closed his eyes.

* * *

Even with the stuff that had happened it still managed to make Nick smile looking back on that morning. True to her word Judy did show up with a tray of ice cubes twenty minutes after Nick turned his phone off.

The rest of the week had been interesting to say the least. Not bad, just interesting.

For the millionth time Nick looked up at Judy in the bed. Why couldn't have the weekend have been like the rest of the week? What could he have done different? Maybe this maybe that. He'd asked them all. What could have changed… nothing.

* * *

 **Wednesday Zootopia city Center Park**

* * *

For the second day in a row Judy had woke Nick up with her incessant texting. She tended to do that when she was bored. And without being able to go to work she was bored almost all the time.

Unlike the day before Nick actually got up and they texted back and forth for almost two hours.

After wasting more minutes on their phones than they would like to even think about Judy instated Nick show her more of the city.

It was past noon and their adventure had landed them in the park near the city center. They had pretty much walked around Savanna Central just seeing what there was too see and talking about anything and everything.

They had eaten lunch at a small café. But they had the taste for something sweet. So now they were laid down in a shady spot enjoying a pair of ice cream cones. Blueberry for Nick and vanilla carrot for Judy.

"You know Carrots, I thought you would pick something else other than carrot flavor."

"I'll have you know I like this flavor and it's not just because I'm a bunny." She giggled between licks.

"It just seems that every rabbit is always eating carrots in one form or another. You know what I mean?"

She turned and smiled. "I really don't care. I'll eat carrots if I want. Just like you'll eat blueberries if you want."

"You got me there Carrots. I love my blueberries."

* * *

Despite the fact that he didn't get to sleep in Nick did have a good day hanging out with the bunny. It was like a date only no one asked the other out. It just sort of happened.

It still didn't prepare him for what happened the following days. Looking back on it, he should have seen it coming a mile away.

* * *

 **Thursday morning, Nick's apartment**

* * *

Nick again was trying to sleep in. But something was wrong. It was almost six thirty and Judy hadn't texted him and she hadn't showed up at his door with ice cubes either. He didn't realize it at first. He was just enjoying his warm bed. But then it hit him like a flying train.

He bolted up and out of bet so fast that he had to pause so he wouldn't get too dizzy. He swiped his phone from its spot on the night stand. Several questions popped into his head about what he should ask:

 _What, did the bunny finely get tired?_

 _No, too rude._

 _Good morning Carrots. What's up! I thought you were supposed to wake me up not the other way around?_

He considered it and decided it couldn't hurt. He unlocked the device and started a text to "Carrots." His fingers paused, hovering over the buttons. Why was he hesitating? All he was doing was checking on the overzealous bunny.

He started tapping keys. What he ended up with sort of surprised him.

6:28 N: Hey Fluff. Was just wondering what you were up to today. If you're not busy maybe we could hang out or something?

After he hit send and reread the massage it registered what he just asked.

"Did I really just ask her out for a date? Nice. That was smooth. Just you wait Wilde, she'll answer back asking whether you're crazy or not."

So he set about getting ready for the day. The entire time he waited for an answer from Judy. But nothing ever came in.

This worried the fox. Judy was not someone to not answer messages unless she was busy or something was wrong.

For what Nick thought was the twentieth time he checked his phone. When once again he saw nothing. "Enough waiting."

Quickly he dialed Judy's number and placed the phone near his ear. After six rings he got her voicemail.

"You've reached Judy Hopps. I couldn't answer the phone. Leave me a massage and I'll get back to you as soon as I can, thanks!"

"Hey Carrots it's me. I was just wondering what you were doing today? And why you haven't bothered me yet? Anyway if you get this, call me. I'll talk to you then, bye."

She hadn't picked up. Maybe she was already on the phone with someone? Nick didn't know why, and he could be wrong, but he had a feeling something was up.

With no other choices, other than to wait, the fox set out for the grand pangolin arms to see if his friend was okay.

* * *

Nothing was wrong when Nick arrived at Judy's apartment. It took him three tries knocking on her door but she did eventually open up. The fox was met with a very sad bunny.

Upon questioning Nick discovered that Judy had found out about the leave they were on being payed. She was upset about not being able to go to work and earn the money properly.

At first Nick just said that she deserved it for all she had done. Of course she argued against that. She even reminded Nick that they were supposed to being punished by being on leave.

Once again all this happened in the past. And no matter how much Nick wished it he couldn't change it. That still didn't stop him from thinking of every possible thing he could have done differently though.

* * *

 **Friday afternoon Nick's apartment**

* * *

The pair had spent the previous day watching movies because it was the only interesting thing that Nick could think of to do. Even though she was reluctant to, Judy agreed.

Now the next day they decided to do the same thing. They were both relaxed on Nick's blue couch. Nick was sitting by an arm of the couch and Judy was right next to him almost leaning on him, but he didn't mind.

Judy was starting to get bored watching Nick's complete collection of The Three Stooges. Sure they were funny for the first two hours but now, not so much.

She reached up and tugged on his shirt sleeve. "Nick."

The fox looked down at her. "Yes Carrots?"

"Do you want to do something else? I'm getting kind of board with the three stooges."

"What does the bunny not like watching three guys argue and hit each other with whatever hard object is in reach?"

"No it's not that. It's just I need to do something more… entertaining."

"Wanna play a board game?" The fox asked.

Judy shrugged and shook her head. "Not really. I enjoy them but I get a little intense while playing them."

Nick nodded his head. "Okay, that's a fair answer, I guess." He put a paw to his chin as he thought. "How about this; what do you want to do? I can't think of anything."

"I don't know. Umm, how about you teach me some more of your paw signals."

Nick raised his eye brows. "What those goofy things, really?" He had kind of been kidding when he gave Judy all those paw signals when they were sneaking into Cliffside. The look on her face had been worth the scare he had gotten before she started that howl.

"Oh come on Nick. It'll be fun. And then we can talk and nobody will know what we're saying."

She did have a point. That would be funny to see the faces they would get. "I can see your point, but it's going to cost you. What are you going to give me in return?"

"I don't know." She paused to think. "How about a hug?"

Nick crossed his arms. "I'm sorry to break it to you Carrots, but that isn't going to work." The offer was tempting, like really tempting. But he decided to decline.

Judy had already taken a plunge with the hug _but this dumb fox is stubborn! Fine it that won't work…_

"Well how about a kiss?" You know what they say; try, try again. This time try harder.

Nick looked at Judy like she had just said the worst curse word in the English language… in German. All she did was waggle her eyebrows back at him. _She's getting better! I need to be careful. This could easily be a trick._

Nick regained his composure quick. "You're just messing with me. You don't have the guts." He said.

"You don't believe me, well." As she spoke she started to subtly shift her position. "How, about NOW!" Quick as a flash she leaped at the unsuspecting fox. While still in midair she grabbed his tie and jerked his head towards hers and planted a kiss right on his furry cheek.

Nick tried to jump away but ended up roiling off the couch instead. He sat up and stared at the bunny in shock. She had a triumphant smirk on her blushing face. He opened his mouth to try to speak, several times but couldn't.

There were so many details that he could remember. The warmth of her breath. The soft feeling of her lips. And the electric sensation it all gave him. He couldn't help reaching up and putting a couple fingers on his check.

Across from him Judy wasn't fairing much better. She was waging war with herself. _I can't believe I just did that! Why did I enjoy it so much?_

 _You know why._

 _You're not helping right now!_

 _Look at him he's in total shock that his friend just sneak kiss attacked him. He's going to think I'm so weird._

 _Than why is his tail wagging? He liked it too._

 _Still not helping! Okay Judy get a hold of yourself. Yes you just kissed your best friend, who is a fox._

 _And you loved it._

 _Shut up!_

 _And it looks like he liked it too._

 _Why do you choose now to do this?! Okay just play it cool and you might not die of embarrassment._

 _Yeah that's a good idea, let's do that._

The wide eyed look Nick was giving her was kind of funny. And the blush on her face was making her look like a tomato. They just sat and stared seeing who would break first.

Judy tried hard but she couldn't hold in her laughs any longer. It started slow but soon enough Judy had her head rolled back laughing. Nick was quick to follow the bunny's example and started laughing too.

Here they were laughing about a kiss of all things. This is what they enjoyed about the friendship they shared. They could talk about anything and even when one or the other did something like this. Nothing really changed much.

Even though neither knew it they were both thinking the same thing; _Why can't I be honest and say how I feel?_

"You know I think you may have convinced me that was sufficient payment." He said between breaths from down on the floor.

She had kissed him. Judy Hopps had kissed him. It may have only been on the cheek but she has still kissed him.

* * *

He had relented and taught Judy his paw signals. At first she was slow to understand them. But then it clicked. She was fast to learn and good at remembering. She even went as far as to help Nick make up new signals. Some of them useful some just funny. The one Nick insisted on making was "Carrots" which was him giving himself bunny ears with his fingers.

Nick reached a bandaged paw up to touch his cheek. It seemed like yesterday that it happened. It was good day, he enjoyed himself and he was sure Judy enjoyed it too.

It was probably the good mood and all the laughs that gave him the guts to ask if Judy still wanted to go to the star viewing the next day. She had been so ecstatic about it. It was all she could talk about for the rest of the day.

Oh how Nick wished he had never asked her to go. Wished he'd never remembered it.

* * *

 **Saturday Nick's apartment 5:36**

* * *

Nick looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a black flannel long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. He was going to be cold where he was going so he dressed a little warmer than normal. He double checked the brace on his leg to make sure it wouldn't give him trouble. It wasn't as bad as the first one, which he had gotten rid of the day before along with those worthless crutches. Those had made it hard to walk around with Judy that week, but true to her word he got the hang of it real quick.

He gave his reflection a double thumbs up. "Looking good Wilde, looking good." He turned around and picked up his coat off of the bed and left the room.

The day before, after Judy had left for the night Nick had walked out to the old hanger by his bridge. No one ever went there so it was a good place to store his red convertible. It was a 72 LTD and his first car.

A few years back a good portion of his hustling money went into fixing the thing up. It was one of the better things he'd spent so much on.

Judy had ridden around in it before but only a couple of times. She always said he needed to keep it closer to his house so he could pick her up in the mornings. Nick just thought it was because she liked to ride around in it so much.

On his way out the door Nick grabbed his keys and wallet and he was off to pick up the bunny for their date.

* * *

 **AN: Shorter chapter this time the next one will more than make up for it though. As you saw at the top it said part one. Yep this is the first of three parts in the ending of my first Arc so to say. When I first started this I didn't have arcs planed so the ending of this one and the beginning of the next one isn't very distinguishable. XD**

 **So are you guys excited about their date? (Yes they've agreed to go on a date. And they're calling it a date.) Or worried about what is going to happen or what has already happened? How about both? Please let me know in the comments.**

 **Also I'd like to thank BeecroftA for voting in the: Who Won the Bet Contest. It was a landslide victory for Nick who only got one vote. So… yeah um I was actually hoping on having Judy's scenario get a little more attention. That's kind of why she didn't argue much when she lost. Oh well.**

 **Like I said at the top I have an editor. His name is InkleCherrySeed. Not only is he writing a story of his own (Which you guys NEED to go read right now! It's awesome!) He's also a wonderful friend and an awesome guy to be around. Thank you Inkle! It was a pleasure working with you. I really look forward to doing it more in the future.**

 **Now if you want to read his story; look up Zootopia Black Rain it's a crossover between Fallout and Zootopia. It's got Fluff, mystery, different species groups like reptiles, and a certain fox and bunny that I'm sure will get together faster than they will in my story.** _ **I shouldn't have said that! Noooo!**_ **If that sounds like your cup of tea check it out, you won't regret it.**

 **Okay that's all I've got to say this time see you all later! Bye! :)**

 ***Awesome sounding narrator voice* In the next episode of To Stand Together or Not at All: Nick and Judy enjoy a night they have both dreamed of for far too long. Except something is not right. Join our heroes once again as they face odds that that are stacked against them and seem impossible. What is wrong, who's behind it? Will they come out on top? Will the fox and bunny kiss again? Will it be a real kiss this time? Find out this and more next time on: To Stand Together or Not at All!**

 **Are you guys all excited now? XD**


	9. Part 2 Present Joy

**Welcome back my friends! This chapter is out pretty fast isn't? I've only had four hours of sleep since last update. But this is worth it, I hope. XD**

 **Now I'm trying something new, I've always wanted to do this. I've got a couple song suggestions for this chapter. This first one is:**

 **Johnny Cash: One Piece at a Time**

 **And the second:**

 **The Eagles: The Last Resort**

 **You don't have to but you can listen to them as you read. They really inspired me while writing maybe they can enhance your experience. If you do decide to listen; One Piece at a Time happens after Johnny Cash is mentioned. And you'll know when The Last Resort starts.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy.**

* * *

 **Edited by: InkleCherrySeed**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

 **Present Joy Part 2**

* * *

Judy could hardly contain the excitement of getting to go to the star viewing with Nick. Yes it sounded like a date but they were going as friends. No more, right?

 _Nope you know why he asked you._ The bunny shook the thought from her head. No use in tormenting herself.

Judy was standing in front of her mirror marveling at the outfit she was wearing. She had asked Fru Fru to pick out something for her. The little shrew apparently already had one for the occasion. It was a long sleeved deep purple blouse and a pair of black jeans. Since it was cold where they were going she had put on a light blue T-shirt under the blouse to help keep her warm.

She turned around and picked up her wallet and phone. Right before she started heading for the door she herd the familiar sound of the 302 engine in Nick's car. She couldn't help the smile that came up on her face. As quick as she could manage (which was really really quick) Judy ran out her door and down the three flights of stairs to the front door.

When she came out the doors she saw the red convertible parked by the curb with Nick holding the door open for her.

"Good evening my lady. May I say you are looking stunning tonight." Nick said in a deep voice. He was failing at not starring at her. The purple of her shirt matched her big beautiful eyes perfectly and the pants she was wearing just helped accent the color.

Judy's ears wilted under the gaze Nick was giving her and her face started to burn from the compliment. "Hey Nick. You're not looking too bad yourself. You look good in black." She loved the way the dark color made his eyes glow. She loved his eyes. How sharp and attentive they were. Though there was a darker side to them too; a mystery that she needed to solve. To understand Nick Wilde.

"Do I now? I thought it would make me seem mysterious." He said as he picked at the shirt.

 _You wouldn't believe how much it does._ "I would say it makes you look more handsome then mysterious." She said with a wink of her eye.

Nick put a paw to his chest. "Look; you're making me blush. Stop it Carrots."

He gestured to the open door. Judy nodded her head and hopped in. Nick walked around the front of the car and jumped in too. "Ready to go?"

Judy had just turned around from buckling her seat belt. "Yes lets go!" She was practically bouncing in place.

Nick pushed in the clutch and turned the key and the engine roared to life. It wasn't a big engine in any way shape or form but it was a pretty loud one, and it got amazing gas mileage. The fox threw it into gear and they were off.

Tonight was going to be a big one for Nick; he had a plan. One that he hoped wouldn't hurt too badly if it went south. At the end of the night Nick was planning on telling Judy how he really felt about her. This could not continue any more, something needed to end. Even if she didn't return his feelings he would still be her friend, but the secrecy would end tonight.

They drove on talking about simple things. They never mentioned the case they were on even though they were going to the place where it was most involved.

"You've had this car for that long?" Judy replied to Nick's earlier comment.

"Yep, got it when I turned sixteen. Never really messed with it that much until about six maybe seven years later. That's when I fixed it up. New paint job, new radio and speakers, I had the CB in it redone. Replaced most of the engine seals. And most recently I did this." He reached forward and pulled a knob out a click and the cab and running lights came on. But what Nick was talking about was the red under glow under the dash by their hind paws.

"How long ago did you do that? And have you done all this stuff by yourself?" Judy asked as she looked at the lights.

"Well when I said recently I meant two years ago. And yes I did do most of the work on this myself. Other that the paint job. I had a friend of Finnick's do that."

"Did this friend happen to do the painting that is on the side of his van too?"

"No it was actually Finnick that did that."

"Really?! You're kidding."

"Nope it's really his work. If you look close you can see where he signed it."

"Huh I would have never guessed. Why doesn't he do that for a living?"

"For a long time he always talked about. But you know how hard something can be to get especially for a fox. Me and him never really had the money to give it a shot. I have heard that he's giving it another one though."

"I wonder what inspired him to do that." She said in a teasing voice.

"Well it couldn't have been me. I'm a cop remember? And hustlers and cops aren't supposed to hang out. It's like cops and robbers it's the natural order of things."

Judy looked at Nick with a look that just screamed 'really?' "Don't give me that. I know you guys go out for drinks every second Saturday of the month."

"What's wrong with that?" Nick wined as if he'd been doing something bad.

"Nothing." She shook her head. "I just think it's sweet that you're helping your friend get back on his feet."

Nick pulled up to a stop light. After the car was stopped he looked up at the roof with a gone. "Oh great, first she thinks I'm cute for being concerned for her. Now she thinks I'm sweet? What's next; handsome? Oh wait she thinks that too."

Judy giggled at Nick's melodramatic complaining. "Oh quit it Nick. There's nothing wrong with being cute, sweet and handsome."

It was Nick's turn to give the 'seriously?' expression. "Says the bunny that doesn't like being called cute."

"Yep! Now where did you learn how to work on this thing?" She gestured around the cab of the car.

"Over the years I've picked up a few things. You know talked to a guy about this. Read a book about that; the usual."

"You mean to tell me that you know how to read. That's wonderful Nick now I won't have to do all the paperwork at work!" She teased.

"Why Carrots you wound me. Of course I can read, I can also write. And I can do this." He lifted his paw in front of his chin; with two slightly bent fingers he rotated his palm counter-clockwise. Then because he was driving he used the same paw to give himself bunny ears. (Translation: Cute Carrots.)

Judy scowled. She balled up her paw and 'wacked' herself in the forehead. Then she made the OK gesture with her fingers and flicked her wrist twice. (Translation: Dumb Fox!)

Nick smiled over at the bunny. "You learn quick Carrots, nice job."

Once again Judy flopped her ears down and started fiddling with them to try to hide her blush. "Thanks Nick."

"No problem, I liked the idea of being able to mess around with people using the signals." He rambled. That _may_ not have been the _only_ deciding factor in his decision. That kiss was pretty compelling.

"Not just for that Nick." She giggled. "For tonight and keeping for me company this past week. It wouldn't have been very enjoyably without you." She spoke softly and sincerely.

She would have made it through the week without the fox but she would have been a mess by the end of it. When she found out what kind of leave they were on it had been a blow. She had thought that unpaid leave was going to be her punishment for goofing off at the search and rescue drill. She was ready to accept that.

The way she was raised she was taught that she had to earn most things. Being on unpaid leave went against what she lived by. It made her feel guilty for not being able to earn the money through honest work. When she thought about it from the chief's point of view it was a great punishment for her.

She also fingered that the chief would expect her to annoy Nick about not being able to work so he couldn't relax. This was exactly what she had been doing. That was why she didn't bother Nick on Thursday; she didn't want to ruin his time.

But he wouldn't have that. There was to be no moping rabbits on his watch. He'd managed to cheer her up and keep her mind off work. It was part of the reason she had the courage to give him that kiss even if it was on the cheek. Just to say thank you.

"You're welcome Fluff. It was my pleasure to keep you from driving everyone around you crazy because you were board."

"I only do that to people I like." Maybe if she started dropping hints Nick might figure out how she felt.

"So you do like me. I knew it."

As soon as it registered to Judy what he had just said she felt a wave of dizziness hit her and her head started to swim. Did he know how she really felt? If he did why didn't he tell her? If he knew; and hadn't told her did that mean he didn't feel the same way? These were some of the many questions she had buzzing around her head.

Nick continued talking without a pause. "I always thought you followed me around because of my foxy tail. But now I know for sure that we're friends and you don't want my tail for its blanket like properties."

Judy was stunned. Even though Nick didn't know it he had just thrown her mind through the mother of all loops. _He's just teasing me? He doesn't know how I feel? Of course he can't tell me cause he doesn't know. Why would he think I want his tail for its blanket like properties? I think it would make a good scarf too._

She recovered relatively well considering the circumstances of her confusion. "How do you know that? Maybe I _am_ after your tail. I think it would make a better scarf then a blanket."

"I thought I knew you better than that Carrots." Nick pouted.

They continued tossing remarks back and forth playfully for the whole trip. Judy even managed to act hurt by one of Nick's jabs by getting all teary eyed. Towards the end of the drive the car had fallen silent. It wasn't that there wasn't any more to say, quite the opposite in fact. It was more of a break to think.

Judy was thinking about what she might see in the sky tonight and was getting excited again. Nick on the other paw was trying to plan out just how he would tell Judy at the end of the night. More so he was thinking about the possible reactions she might have.

There were a few different ways he could see it going. One: She understands but doesn't feel the same way but still wants to be friends. Two: At first she acts the same then as time passes she starts becoming more and more distant. Three the most unlikely: She shares his feelings and they start a relationship together.

Nick had just rounded a bend and the observatory was in sight. "Hey Carrots take a look at that." He gestured to the massive building they were approaching.

Judy looked up from where she had been fiddling with her shirt and gasped at what she saw. The whole building was covered in small soft yellow lights. Since it was snowing very softly and it was getting near dark the lights gave a holiday feeling even though it was the middle of the summer time.

She turned and beamed at him. "Oh Nick, they're beautiful. They almost look like stars. Don't you think?"

Nick bent down to get a better look through the windshield. "Yeah, that must be why Edward puts them up. Plus it's inviting to the public."

Once again Judy was pretty much vibrating in her seat. "What do you think we'll see tonight?"

Nick shrugged. "I don't know, maybe some stars a planet or two? You tell me. I'm betting I'll see the inside of an observatory tonight."

Judy rolled her eyes. "Har har, I'm serious Nick."

"Well, it just so happens that I am too. Just behold my serious expression." The fox looked over and wiggled his eyebrows at the bunny.

"I don't think you are physically capable of being serious." She giggled.

Nick pulled into a parking spot and shut the engine off. He turned and gave Judy a sad look and put a paw on his chest. "I am offended that you would think something like that about me."

They clambered out of the convertible and met at the front of it. When they got there Judy grinned. "Did I hurt the poor fox's feelings?" She cooed.

"Maybe, but I know how you can make it better." He whined in a hurt voice.

Judy cocked her hip and put a paw on it as she smiled. "And how do I do that?"

He bowed and held out a paw. "Come with me my dear."

Her smile only grew. "Ooo romantic." She reached out and put her small paw in Nick's much bigger one. He closed his fingers which completely engulfed her paw. It really highlighted just how much of a size difference there was between them. They stood like that for a moment just holding paws and staring into the other's eyes.

Judy gave Nick a smile he swore she saved just for him. With the way she was looking at him her eyes seemed to say something that he thought was impossible. "Lead on foxy."

Nick drew the bunny closer to him. They turned around and began their walk up to the observatory. There weren't many other vehicles around so Judy assumed that meant there wasn't going to be a huge amount of people inside. That would be pleasant; a nice quite evening with Nick.

When they reached the front doors Nick stepped up and held the door open. "After you."

"Thank you mister Wilde." Once they were both inside they were greeted with a pleasant warmth. Enough so that they were able to take their coats off, which they hung on the wall to the right of the door.

Judy looked around. "Well where is everybody?" She asked.

They were standing in the main hallway with the dome to the right and the boors to the basement to the left. Because of this Nick reasoned that everyone was probably going to be in the dome. "Well Carrots I would guess everyone is in the dome, they are here to see the stars after all."

"I think you might be right. Shall we?" This time she held out her paw. Which Nick gently grasped.

As they walked down the hall they both began to realize just how big the building really was. They never really had that much time to pay that much attention to details the last time they were here. It defiantly took them a solid five minutes to get to the dome. They must have been walking pretty fast last time because it didn't feel like they were here _that_ long. That or they must have practically been jogging the whole time. It took Judy a moment and a couple of times looking over her shoulder to realize that the hallway had a slight curve to it. And that she couldn't see the doors to the basement anymore.

Soon enough they reached the threshold to the dome. Both fox and bunny could hear talking and the occasional laugh. Without hesitating they walked through the open doors. As soon as they were in the big room they felt the chill of the outside. Not as bad as actually being outside but still very slightly uncomfortable. They were both glad they were wearing some warmer clothes.

Surrounding the massive telescope was a group of all manners of mammals; from an elephant to a mouse. There was even a platypus wearing a winter coat. Judy had never seen one before. She read about them but had never actually seen one in the flesh. A quick survey told Nick; him and Judy were the second smallest couple there tonight.

Among the crowd was Edward. Nether the fox or bunny could actually see him. But they could hear him talking about the history of the room and its contents. The duo meandered up to the group of people. Since they were on the smaller size it was quite easy to squeeze through to the front. Once they got there they saw Edward standing about five stairs up on the stair case that went up the telescope.

Almost as soon as they were in the front he spotted them. It must have been a skill he had picked up from being an astronomer. The arctic fox smiled and stopped talking. "I knew you two would make it. Hey everybody I would like to introduce Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. They're the ones that have been working on putting a stop to the people stealing the equipment from the observatory."

Judy nudged the fox and squeezed his paw in a pattern. This was more of the signals they had gone over. Judy had devised this set based on Morse code so if they couldn't motion with their paws but they were still close enough to hold them. (Translation: He had to make it awkward didn't he?)

After a second Nick replied with his own pattern of squeezes. (Translation: I guess. Let's just roll with the punches and see how it goes.)

Edward started walking down the stairs. As soon as he reached the other fox and the bunny he held out a paw, which they both shook in turn. "I'm glad you guys could make it. With all you're doing for me and Chuck I knew you guys would deserve something like this."

"We're just doing our job Mr. Sanders. There's no need to thank us." Nick replied.

Edward waved both his paws "Nonce it's the least we could do. Now I'd better get back to the crowd it's about the right time to get people looking towards the stars."

The fox turned around and walked back up the staircase. "Sorry about that. Had to say thank you. Now where we? Right we were agreeing on what we would be looking at and in what order. So who's next?"

The jaguar couple raised their paws. "Our son has been studding the spot on Jupiter would it be possible to see that tonight?"

"As a matter of fact it will be in sight tonight. And if you would like I could record the footage so your son could see it too."

"Oh that would be wonderful. Thank you so much Mr. Sanders!" The wife said.

"Dose anyone else have anything specific they would like to look at?"

Nick raised his free paw catching Edward's attention. "Are there any interesting planets you'd recommend? If so I'd like to see one of those."

"I've got one that I think would be perfect. It is however on the east side of the dome and everything else so far is on the west side. This isn't a problem but you guys are doing to have to wait until last."

Nick looked down at the bunny at his side. "Is that alright Carrots? Would you like to see Edward's perfect planet?"

She looked up and smiled as she nodded her head. "Sure Nick than sounds nice."

Nick clapped his paws together. "Well then Edward we'll be happy waiting until later."

"Great! If you guys would like there's drinks and snacks in the gym. Everyone is welcome to them. Just go down the hall it's the second door on the left. Chuck could you would raise the telescope 22 degrees and rotate the dome 15 degrees to the right please."

"Sure thing Edward." The lion called from up on top of the cat walk that ran around the dome. Nether the fox or the bunny noticed that he was up there. They turned around and waved. "Hi Chuck!" Judy called happily. He waved back to the duo with a smile.

Nick grabbed Judy's paw and started pulling her towards the door. "Come on Carrots let's go see if there's any coffee in the gym."

"Nick! Slow down, you're going to pull me off my feet."

Nick slowed to a walk immediately. He looked down with an ashamed expression on his face. "Sorry Carrots. I was just excited."

Judy grabbed Nick's paw, which he had let go of hers with, and gave it a squeeze. "It's alright. Just slow down there's plenty of time to enjoy the night, and coffee."

The last part put a smile back on his face. "Alright, thanks Fluff."

She gave his paw another squeeze and they walked out of the dome. As they left the large room they heard the sound of large motors and metal moving. It must have been the dome rotating.

They walked paw in paw until they reached the second set of double doors on the left. They were both propped open and the lights were on inside but they were dimmed significantly. When they crossed the threshold in to the enormous room they were surprised to see it had been set up rather nicely.

There were tables set up along a couple of the walls. Near the door there was a long white plastic table with a couple different punch like drinks and the makings for coffee. There were also true to Edward's word snacks. They were simple packets of nuts and berries for prey and fried crickets and other bugs for predators.

"This is pretty nice. How much do you think it costs to come to this event? And do you think Edward is going to make us pay for it?" As he was talking he was still surveying the room. Suddenly he gasped, which made Judy jump.

"What is it Nick, are you okay?" She asked with a little concern.

"It's nothing I'm fine." He let go of her paw and started walking to the right corner of the room. When Judy started to follow after him she spotted what he had. Sitting in the corner of the room was an old jukebox.

"I haven't seen one of these since I was a kit. I wonder if it still works?" He reached the machine and started fiddling with it. In less than ten seconds he was on his paws and knees squeezing behind it.

At this point Judy had come up and was watching the fox work. She was having immense trouble not watching his tail bob and wag around. She needed to distract herself. "Nick are you sure you should be doing that? You might get in trouble." As soon as she said it she heard a spark of electricity and the jukebox lit up.

"Ha! It still works. All it needed was plugged in and the power cord wiggled around. Now we can listen to music." He crawled out from behind the now vibrantly lit machine and brushed his pants off. He turned around and looked at Judy, who had an odd expression on her face. "What?"

A smile started to appear on her face. "You really are a handy fox aren't you? I thought you were kidding around."

"Of course I'm a handy fox. What makes you think I wasn't? It's because I am a fox isn't it?" He put a paw to his chest. "You know that hurts right? Right here." He patted his chest to emphasize his point.

"Nick, I didn't mean-" He held up a finger silencing her.

"Because you are making my chest hurt I get to pick the first song."

"You, you did that on purpose! You sly fox. I should have seen that coming." She started giggling.

"You know Carrots? After all the time you spend around me I'm surprised you're still so gullible."

She quit laughing. "I'm not gullible." As soon as she had the words out of her mouth she started laughing even harder than before.

"Yeah says the bunny that thought I was actually Finnick's dad." Nick had already turned back around to face the music maker, that didn't stop him from teasing in the slightest. After a moment he was sifting through the song collection trying to figure out what he wanted to listen to.

"This thing has been recently upgraded there's a few Gazelle songs in here. It's still all on CD but there's more than I was expecting."

Judy lit up at the mention of her favorite singer. "Really, can I pick a song? Please." She drew her paws into her chest and was hopping up and down. All the while she was giving Nick the biggest and, dare he say; cutest eyes.

Quickly Nick's resolve to pick the first song was disintegrating. He spun around and faced the jukebox and started scrolling through choices. "A deal's a deal Carrots I get first pick." She was about to protest but the fox held up a finger silencing her. "You ever heard of Johnny Cash?"

She cocked her head to the side making her ears flop that way too. "No who's that?"

Nick lowered his head into his paws and groaned. "My best friend doesn't know who Johnny Cash is. If I would have known there might have been time to save you. There's no other choice I need to educate you on who a real singer is."

Judy had crossed her arms and was lightly glaring at the red fox. Though he could still see her lips slightly curved up in a smile she was trying to hide. "I know a good singer when I hear one. And it's not my fault I don't know who Johnny Cash is. I'm not as old as you."

"I don't care if you think I'm old I know good music when I hear it unlike most young kids nowadays. Now be quite and listen to the song." As soon as he was finished specking the song started:

" _Well I left Kenturky back in '49._

 _An' went to deertroit Workin' on a 'sembly line._

 _The first year they had me puttin' wheels on cadillacs..._

* * *

The song was about a man that wanted to have a Cadillac but didn't have the money to buy one. Since he worked on an assembly line he devised a plan to take every part to build one of the cars over a series of years. What the result was one of a kind to say the least.

Judy was leaning against Nick still laughing about the song as he chuckled along with her. They were both seated at a small round card table that was in the corner. After starting the song Nick went to get him and Judy a drink. He was pleasantly surprised to find hot chocolate along with coffee. Which he immediately poured a cup full of each and returned to where Judy had decided they would sit.

Judy sighed happily. "So Slick, is that how you got your car? And how you became such a handy fox?" She elbowed Nick playfully.

"Oh I wish. Actually, the car has been mine since I was eleven. My dad gave it to me." He paused as he took a slightly shaky breath. "I inherited it after he died from heart disease."

Nick didn't really know why he was sharing such a painful memory with the bunny at his side. Maybe it was his subconscious trying to get some last minute practice on how to share guarded memories in before he took the chance and confessed to Judy later.

Judy covered her mouth to try and conceal her gasp, but Nick still saw and heard it. "Oh Nick, I'm so sorry." She laid her paw on his arm, just like she did when they were in the sky tram more than a year ago. To her relief he didn't pull away this time. In fact she could feel his tensed forearm relax under her touch.

He took another deep breath as he prepared to speak some more. But Judy beat him to it. "Nick," she said softly. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want."

She could tell that he was having trouble with the current topic. And she didn't want him to be upset about it for the rest of the night. Of course she _did_ want to know more. She wanted to know Nick better. He knew most there was to know about her. What she did as a kit, what her family was like. He even knew she never went to her first prom because no one would take her because of what she dreamed to do one day. He knew a lot about her, but she didn't know very much about him.

Nick sighed it never ceased to amaze him the lengths Judy would go to be a good and caring friend. It was a huge part of why he loved her. She always, _always_ put others before herself. That's what made her such a good police officer.

"It's alright Carrots. I've never had anyone else to talk to about this, other than my mom. I just need to get this off my chest then we can enjoy the rest of the night." Nick smiled down at Judy, eyes filled with adoration.

Judy was touched that Nick found such trust in her that he would open up to her. She looked up and saw the smile she was receiving. She focused on his emerald eyes. The way they seemed to sparkle made her heart skip a beat and her cheeks to grow warm. "Okay Nick, I'll listen."

"Thanks, Judy. Well let's see where do I start? Have you ever heard of suit-topia?" Judy shook her head "Yeah that makes since; you weren't even alive then; I was five or six. It's all just a memory now to only the people that care enough to remember. Any way my dad owned the place. He made the best suits in all of Zootopia. I can show you pictures of past mayors that are wearing a suit he made. All the suits Mr. Big wears he made."

He paused as he smiled. Those were good times back then there was no trouble with money and since Nick was so young the world was still pure and good to his naïve eyes. Many times Nick wished it could all just go back to those care free days.

"Even though he was the best tailor in the city he was still a predator and a fox. It cost him so much business and caused so much pain. But he always put on the brave face for me and mom. After the junior ranger scouts incident I woke up. At first I was broken then I just accepted what I was; just a fox. My dad always gave me the strength to go on to keep trying. But stuff just kept beating me down."

Nick took another shaky breath this was the part he didn't want to talk about; didn't want to relive. But he had started this and by god he was going to finish.

Meanwhile Judy could easily tell that Nick was having trouble. She didn't want for him to have to struggle through this like he was. But she held her tough. All she did was give a gentle squeeze to his arm.

"Shortly after I turned eleven my dad had a heart attack when he was at work. An aneurysm that had developed near his heart ruptured. His apprentice drove him to the hospital in his own car. The car that is now parked outside right now." For what seemed like the tenth time the fox took a long breath. He swallowed and then continued. "But he didn't make it." He spoke quietly. "The bleeding was too bad he died after ten minutes."

Judy's eyes were glassy as she held back tears. Even so she managed to form words. "Oh Nick, I'm so sorry. Come here." She scooted to the side of her char and reached up and hugged the fox. Nick hugged back.

They stayed that way for a moment; one they both wished would last just a little longer. When they separated Nick spoke. "He willed the car to me and the shop to my mom. That is why I still have the old thing and why I take such good care of it, it's all I've got left of him."

Judy looked up at Nick with a shy yet sad smile she asked: "Nick what was your dad's name?"

A smile appeared on his face. One that wasn't sad or heart broken. It was one that spoke silently of remembrance and love. "Robbin, Robbin Wilde."

Judy smiled and hugged Nick's midsection again. "Thanks for telling me Nick." She whispered.

"Thank you for listening… and not crying in public." He snickered. He felt good about how the talk had gone. He sure did feel pretty good about just being able to talk and be listened to. Too many times to count Nick didn't ever open up because no one _ever_ wanted to listen to a fox complain.

They stayed still secretly enjoying the closeness and contact with the other. Judy did turn away a little so she could take a sip of her hot chocolate. She found to be the perfect drinking temperature so it wouldn't burn her mouth. Almost as fast as Nick slurps down his first cup of coffee in the mornings; Judy drained the Styrofoam cup her drink was in.

"Wow Carrots I didn't know you liked that stuff so much. If I did I would have gotten you a bigger cup." Even with the previous topic still on his mind slightly Nick was going to stick to his word and have a good night. The best way to do that was to mess with his partner.

Judy put the cup down with a little bit of force, and it made that noise a Styrofoam object makes when it's dropped. She smiled up at Nick. Her smile was big and happy; Nick could clearly see her buck teeth.

"That was pretty good. Would you get me another cup?" She picked the empty cup back up and held it out to Nick.

"As much as I would love to do that for you Carrots I don't think you need any more right now. How about we meander back to the dome and see what Edward is doing?"

While they were talking more people had come into the room and were getting drinks and something to eat. There was actually a good number of people in the room; well over half that had been in the dome earlier. Since the jukebox was turned on and lit up it attracted the attention of other people and so it was playing more songs.

Judy groaned. "Well fine I'll just get some myself. I'm sure Edward won't mind." She winked as she stood up and walked up to the drink table.

Nick stood up shortly after with his slightly full cup in paw. "I'm heading to the dome." He called to Judy as he walked to the doors."

"Alright Nick. I'll be there in a minute." She answered. She turned back around and started making her drink. Probably to save money and time Edward didn't mix up anything other than the punch and coffee.

Judy was busy pouring the packet of hot chocolate mix into the cup of hot water when she heard someone walk up behind her.

"Miss Hopps?" Asked a female voice.

Judy turned around to see the Jaguar from earlier was standing behind her with a smile. "Yes?"

"Could I get your autograph for my son? You're such an inspiration to him."

Judy realizing what was going on. "Sure of course." She pulled out the carrot pen and her note book. Even though she wasn't on the job Judy still liked to keep them with her in case she thought of something so she could write it down. She flipped to the back page where she knew there wouldn't be any notes. "What's his name?"

"Russell Evens."

Judy finished writing the autograph and tore the page out. She wished she had one of her junior ZPD officer stickers to put on it, but sadly she didn't. The bunny held out the note to the mother in front of her. Who took and held it like it was priceless. "Thank you so much Miss Hopps! He's going to love this."

"It's no problem; my pleasure. If you want I could get my partner's autograph for you too?"

"I already sent my husband to get his. Speaking of which I need to go find him. It's almost time for us to leave to pick Russell up from his scout meeting. Thanks again Miss Hopps!" She smiled and she turned to leave.

"You're welcome!" Judy waved goodbye. Once the friendly mother had walked out the doors Judy turned around to resume working on her drink.

When she had finished she took a sip which was a little too hot. Then she decided to join Nick back in the dome. On the way back the grey bunny pulled out her phone to check the time. What she saw shocked her; they had already been there for more than an hour. It sure didn't feel anything like an hour. It felt more like twenty minutes. Nick's story must have taken more time to tell than she realized.

It sure didn't help that it looked later that it was when they had gotten there. Since it was snowing it made it look later then it really was. They had arrived around six, and it was now seven. There was still almost an hour of daylight until it was going to be dark for the rest of Zootopia. To Judy it felt like it was much later.

 _No use in worrying about it too much._ She thought as she resumed her walk. Once the doors were in sight she could clearly see Nick, Edward and Chuck talking and laughing together.

Judy walked up Chuck who was still laughing about something. "Wow Mr. Wilde You make being a cop sound like fun." He said between small laughs.

"So." Judy opened. "What embarrassing thing did you tell them? I hope it's not about me." She grumbled while trying to hide a smile.

"Why Carrots I would never do such a thing to my partner. But I would do it to a certain wolf I know that's scared of spiders."

"Nick you didn't." She said in a disappointed tone.

"Quite the contrary; I did. I was just telling Edward and Chuck here about the time I put a fake spider in Wolford's desk drawer."

* * *

 **Flash back:**

Judy remembered _that_ day very well. It all started as a normal Tuesday with rollcall. Which didn't lead anywhere interesting it was a very slow day. Everyone was in their office or cubical doing backed up paperwork. Suddenly there was a scream and a loud bang followed by the sound of stuff clattering to the floor. The sound was enough to make Judy nearly spring completely out of her char.

The next thing the fox and bunny know their office door explodes open and there stood Chief Bogo with a look that could kill and a coffee mug still in hoof. The words on said mug read: Have you flogged your crew today?

Both the fox and bunny gulped as they read what the cup said. "What was that noise?" The buffalo asked in a sweet tone.

Judy turned around in her char to fully face the chief. "Sir I know what you're thinking but it wasn't Nick this time."

"Then who was it?" He asked in a more agitated tone.

This time Nick turned around to answer. "Well if I had to guess it sounded like it came from down the hall around Wolford's office."

For a long moment Bogo stared at the fox trying to make him squirm. But it wasn't working very well as the apparently very bomb proof fox started picking at one of his claws.

After a finale snort Bogo turned and left the office with a bang from the door.

Judy looked over at Nick. "What did you do this time Nick?"

"I haven't left this office since the briefing earlier. And I didn't make that loud noise. So I didn't do anything."

* * *

"So yeah I put a fake spider in Wolford's desk and when he saw it he kicked it over and hid behind Fangmyer as she searched through the rubble with a rolled news paper for it."

"You know Mr. Wilde; you shouldn't be so hard on Wolford. He's a good guy." Edward said between chuckles.

"I know, but it's good for him; keeps him on his toes. And they all got even with me last year on prank day. Even Carrots here was in on it, sort of."

Judy smiled and started talking next. "Yeah Bogo had me stay at home for the first part of the day said I needed a break for some reason. Then he called Nick in early saying I had been hit by a car and was at the hospital."

Nick's ears were folded back with the reminder of that horrible day. With the way he felt about Judy it was all he could do not to cry when he heard the awful news. When he got to the hospital he was in such a panic they actually needed to call Judy to come in and calm him down. Over the next week everyone in the station, including the chief, were pranked by Judy mercilessly. All of them in a way that would target a weakness they had. (She pushed Wolford into the cleaning closet which she had packed full of fake spiders. For the next twenty minutes he was very quiet until he called Fangmyer over the radio to come save him.) Ever since then it was agreed that no one would play that sort of trick on either the fox or the bunny.

While the group was talking the dome above their heads was slowly turning. Edward said it would be faster if he could get that upgraded gear laying system. The other people were quite fast to look at the sky most were plum happy to take a look at some random stars. So it was going to be Nick and Judy's turn to look in a short while.

There was a pause in the conversation for a moment as everyone thought of what to talk about next.

"So Edward what is so special about this mystery planet you're going to show us?" Nick asked. Since he had been talked into looking at it he might as well try and find out what made it unique.

Edward smiled. _More than you can possibly imagine._ "Oh nothing super spectacular other than it's almost exactly like the Earth. We call it Jabrars after the astronomer that discovered it almost four thousand years ago. Shortly after we rediscovered it in nineteen-fifty-five we found several ancient manuscripts describing the planet and its location almost exactly."

Judy had a thoughtful look on her face. "I think I might have heard of that once when some of my brothers were watching one of their science shows. It was talking about how it was a good planet to try to colonize."

Edward nodded his head to the bunny. "You're right Miss. Hopps. It's among the top three that we would choose from if we had the technology. It's doing pretty good considering we've found thousands of planets that might support life."

Nick whistled. "Wow Carrots aren't you glad I picked such a cool planet to look at tonight?" He elbowed the bunny next to him playfully.

Judy on the other paw just rolled her purple eyes and shook her head in a 'he'll never stop will he?' kind of fashion. "Whatever you say Slick." There was a dull boom sound as the dome stopped rotating which subsequently stopped any playful arguments that were about to take place.

Edward looked up at the large structure seeming to survey it. "Okay guys she's in position. Who wants to look first?"

"What kind of a fox would I be if I didn't let this beautiful lady go before myself?" He did a bow towards the platform that normally housed the various attachments for the telescope but now a just char sat there. "After you my dear Carrots."

Ears and face slightly blushing Judy turned and looked at her friend beside her. She smiled at him before taking his paw and leading them over to the base of the telescope. When they got there Judy sat down as Nick adjusted the looking port to her height.

"Thanks Nick."

"No problem."

Judy was excited about what she would see and that was making her slightly nervous. Kind of like the feeling on Christmas morning when she was a kit right before she got to open her presents. She took a breath to help boost her confidence then leaned forward and put her eye to the glass.

At first she couldn't make out much because the picture was blurry. But soon enough it cleared up and she could see. About in the middle of her vision with a background of stars Judy could see a small blue planet with a blue ring around it. She couldn't tell but if she were to guess it was about the size of the Earth. When she held her breath she was still enough to be able to see land mass and even clouds but there was no green what so ever. In fact the chunks of land she could see were a red color like Mars.

Nick crouched down and stuck his head right next to Judy's ear. "What do you see Carrots? Is it cool like Edward says?"

Judy took her eye away from the telescope and turned to look at her friend next to her. "Well I see some sort of object I'm not really sure what it is though. Here take a look." She grabbed his head and pulled it in front of the eyepiece.

Not really expecting to have his head grabbed by a pair of really soft bunny paws Nick was unable to resist Judy pulling his head towards the telescope. Before he knew it he was looking at a blanket of stars. Unlike most of the ones he was used to seeing these one were many different colors. After marveling at the beauty so many different colors he decided to focus on what Judy was talking about.

After a moment of Nick practically lying across Judy's lap (she really had to resist the urge to rub behind his ears.) Nick turned around to look at her. "Since you asked me Carrots I would say that is Edward's planet. Isn't it Edward?" He looked behind them to confirm if he was right.

Edward and Chuck had moved back up to the catwalk and were looking at some computer simulations about something. Edward looked up from the screen and down at the other fox. "Yep that's it."

Judy smirked. "I knew that. I was just seeing if you could figure it out."

"Has anyone ever told you you're a very sly bunny? I was worried there for a second that you might be needing glasses."

"I don't need glasses. I bet they'd make me look dumb anyway."

"I bet you'd look-"

Judy gave Nick a look that could make it rain fire on a snowy winter day. "Don't you even think about finishing that sentence Wilde."

Nick raised his paws hoping it would calm the bunny down so she wouldn't skin him to get his tail. "Fine I'll be quite. No more talking; ranger scout's honor."

Satisfied with the result Judy nodded and looked through the telescope again. Because of the Earth's rotation and some adjustments Edward was making. The view was a different planet this time.

For the next twenty minutes the duo took turns looking at several different planets that were all part of the Arcon System which had eighteen in all. Seven with a base of rock, five gas giants, and a surprisingly large amount of liquid based ones totaling six in all.

As they looked they talked, not specifically about the planets, they just talked. It was one of the rare moments between them when they weren't trying to tease. It was quite nice to be able to relax.

When they had their fill of star gazing they got up and went to tell Edward. Once again he thanked them for what they were doing and thanked them for coming. After that they all wished each other good nights then Nick and Judy left the dome paw in paw.

Once they were again in the long hallway Nick spoke. "Did you notice how tense and nervous Edward was acting just a second ago?"

Judy nodded her head making her ears bob. "Yeah he must have some pressing work that needs his attendance."

Nick was quite for a second until they were passing the doors to the gym. He had to tell Judy. But how? His nerves were eating him and he was losing his resolve. Suddenly he had an idea. "While we're here I wanna get another coffee. Do you want some more hot cocoa for the road?"

"Sure Nick."

If Nick was lucky the jukebox might still be playing music. And if he was really lucky it might be playing a song him and Judy could dance to. When they entered the room Nick was dismayed to find that the jukebox was quite.

As quick as Nick could (which was fast) he thought of a plan. Since he only needed to pour a cup of coffee for himself and Judy needed to mix her drink up. The delay would give him the chance to pick a song.

As Judy was busy pouring hot water into her cup she noticed Nick wasn't waiting by her side like she had been expecting. Then she herd the speakers crackle and the jukebox started playing. She turned around and was shocked to find Nick right there with his paw held out.

"May I have this dance?"

Judy was utterly shocked never before had anyone ever asked to dance with her. She was always the weird one around school so that led to her only having a couple friends and none of them were boys. So she never got a date to her first prom. She didn't even try to get one for her second; at that point it was all meaningless to her anyway.

Without speaking Judy slowly reached out and put her paw in Nick's. He smiled one of his few genuine smiles at her; no smirk devised to be a mask.

Nick led Judy to the open part of the room where he put a paw on her mid-section. In return she put one of hers on his shoulder. With their height difference it was a little uncomfortable but they were enjoying it.

Nick had picked a song by The Eagles: The last Resort.

To the music they both started swaying and turning around each other. Nether spoke they just looked into the other's eyes.

Judy sighed and looked down for a second. When she looked back up at the fox she was wearing a smile. She let go of Nick and wrapped her arms around his chest in a hug. She leaned her head on him and listened to his heart. "Thank you Nick."

As soon as Nick heard her he wrapped his arms around her. _Okay Wilde_ He thought as they swayed back and forth. _It's now or never and I won't settle for never._

He gently grabbed Judy's shoulders and moved her away from himself and kneeled down to be more her height. "Listen, Judy I need to tell you something."

Judy looked up and saw the serous expression on Nick's face. With the use of her real name he had her attention. "Yes Nick, what is it?"

"For a long time now I've felt this way." He paused to work up the last of his courage. With one last sigh "Judy Hopps I-"

 _Ring_

It was Judy's phone. She groaned and her ears folded back in irritation.

 _Ring_

"I'm so sorry Nick I forgot my parents usually call tonight.

 _Ring_

Can I get this otherwise they won't stop calling until I pick up?"

 _Ring_

Of all the moments to have this happen this was by far the worst ever. Even though Nick was upset about the interruption he was positive. _It's alright I'll just tell her in a minute. It won't be all romantic like I was wanting but I'm sure she won't mind that much._ Nick sighed. "No problem Carrots."

"Thank you Nick. I still want to know what you had to tell me so don't think I'm just going to forget." She turned around and walked out into the hall. Right when she was about to hit the answer icon; the call was disconnected.

"What? That's weird I just had three bars." It was true she did just have three bars of survive and right before her eyes it had disappeared. Something was wrong with her phone. "Hey Nick come out here."

Nick having heard the urgency in her voice came out almost right away. "What is; is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure. Is your cell getting any signal?"

He pulled it out and checked. "Huh that's weird it doesn't. I was getting it before in this building."

"I know same here. I just lost it in the middle of my phone call." Suddenly her ears shot straight up and faced towards the front exit down the hall.

Nick saw this and knew something was happening. "What did you hear?" he whispered.

"I heard a crash but it's quite now." Her eyes widened. "Maybe it was Edward or Chuck we should go check to see if they're alright."

Nick nodded his head and followed Judy as she jogged off. When they got to Edwards conference room Judy stuck her head in. "Mr. Sanders are you in there?" She got no answer.

"Maybe they're further down?" Nick suggested.

Without a word they kept going. When they rounded the last of the bend in the hall they saw. It was nether Edward or Chuck. The mammal that stood facing them was lynx only much bigger.

* * *

 **Cliffhanger! Yeah! Is this a good one? Yes? No? Maybe? XD**

 **Well what do you think? Enough fluff in this one? Do you guys know what is going to happen now? I bet not. Muhahahaha! What did you guys think about Nick's sad back story? Was it a good idea to have it in this chapter? Who here likes his car, because I sure do. If you don't know what it looks like look up 1972 LTD, it's really nice.**

 **Next I'd like to send out a special thanks to Anonamoose for suggesting the mug we saw the chief using in this chapter. Thanks for the suggestion and kind reviews buddy! :)**

 **I'll admit it I'm pretty bad with the animal puns. I could not for the life of me think of one for Johnny Cash. This chapter's request is: can you think of an animal pun for the name Johnny Cash?**

 **That's all for now. Happy Thanksgiving!**

 ***cool narrator voice***

 **On the next chapter of To Stand Together or Not at All. Nick and Judy's trust in each other will go through the ultimate test as they fight for their lives. Will they survive what they uncover? Find out next time on To Stand Together or Not at All!**


	10. Part 3: Future Fears

**Well as much as I would love to torture you guys with a really long wait for the answer to the cliffhanger at the end of last chapter. I couldn't bare the suspense myself and started working on this the same day I finished the last installment. I hope you appreciate it. ;)**

* * *

 **Edited by InkleCherrySeed**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

 **part 3: Future Fears**

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The mammal was without a doubt Ryan Snowlence. The pictures Nick and Judy had seen of him matched. The trio stood there quietly and completely still. Everyone was waiting for the other person to make the first move. At the same instant the large cat sprinted to the side and the fox and bunny duo chased after; all heading for one of the small domes.

"Stop!" Judy shouted in a commanding voice. The lynx didn't reply he just ran harder until he burst through the door to the outside.

Both Nick and Judy threw themselves against the door but it didn't budge. "We're not going to get this open in time!" Judy yelled. She yanked on her ears as she tried to think of what to do.

"We got to go around, let's go!" Nick grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. Speed is what they needed and it was not easy for Nick to achieve with his brace and hurt knee. But Judy was already pulling ahead of him and he wasn't going to let her run into trouble without him at her side.

Even with Nick pushing himself to the limit Judy still out paced him and was through the front doors of the building at least thirty seconds before he was. By the time he had burst through the doors Judy was already rounding the corner coming back towards him.

She started waving her arms getting his attention. "Get to the car they're already in theirs!" Nick didn't need to be told twice as he made a beeline straight for the red convertible with Judy joining him a second later.

They both reached it at the same time. Nick threw his door open and Judy lunged in it all the way in to the back seat. Nick threw himself into the driver's seat and jammed the keys in the ignition. After a couple of times pumping the gas pedal the engine roared to life. Without even hesitating Nick popped the clutch and the tires screeched and burned as they flew out of the parking lot after a white van.

"Judy what are you doing back there?!" He asked as he looked in the rear view mirror.

"I left a vest in here the last time you took me for a ride. I'm getting that on."

Nick swerved to miss a group of mouse sized cars. "Why did you leave that in here?!"

"It was an accident. Now stop yelling and focus on driving!" She yelled from the back as she strapped the vest on. After a second she climbed into the front seat and buckled herself up.

"Call for backup. Try to get a road block set up." Judy nodded her head; cellphone already in her paw.

She pulled the phone away from her head and looked over at Nick with eyes full of worry. "I don't have signal Nick. They must have a jammer."

Nick was quiet for a second as he thought. Then he had it. He reached forward and turned the CB radio on. If this was any other time Judy would have commented on how nice the red back lighting in it looked. He pointed at the largest knob on the left side of the radio. "Switch it to channel nine. We should still have people that have ears on there." She did as he said and turned the knob until the displayed number read nine.

"Alright Nick."

Nick reached forward and grabbed the mike. "Breaker O nine breaker O nine. This is Officer Wilde. Does anyone read me? Repeat, this is Officer Wilde. Does anyone read me?"

They were quickly approaching the climate wall and subsequently the tunnel to Sahara Square. From what Nick could tell they were heading straight for the bridge that crossed the river and would lead into the trees. The van was trying to lose them.

Suddenly the static from the CB quieted; "This is Officer Graves of Precinct 2. I read you Wilde. What do you need?"

"I'm in the middle of a high speed chase with a high priory target. I need you to patch me through to Precinct 1 and call for backup. Can you do that?"

"I will try, give me a moment."

As they were talking the van they were chasing was doing everything in its power to evade them. But with Nick's racing engine he had little trouble keeping up. It was another story trying to maneuver so he wouldn't hit anyone or anything.

When they rounded a corner Nick could see the tunnel and they were approaching fast.

Nick held down the button on the mike. "Listen Graves. I'm about to lose signal. Call in an O-seven lion sized van; white! There's a red 72 LTD chasing behind it; that's me. I think they're heading for the bridge going out of the city; to Bunnyburrow. Try and block them off."

"Roger that Wilde I'll get stuff going. You just stay on them don't lose them."

"I don't plan on it." He said to himself.

The tunnel they were about to go through was going through maintenance so there wasn't anything in their way on the left side of the road. The tunnel was a quarter mile long with a slight curve in it. It took the two cars less than a minute to fly through.

Nick had no idea how the van was going so fast. A look at the speedometer told him they were both going over eighty five miles an hour. If the ZPD didn't respond fast they would blow past the bridge before the ZPD could set up a road block.

As all this happened Judy was sitting and praying that no one would get hurt in this high speed chase. She hated being the passenger in these things. When she was in control of the vehicle it wasn't as scary to drive at breakneck speeds. Now she knew how Nick felt when she drove.

She looked up at an approaching road sign that read: Watering Hole Bridge two miles. "Nick I don't think the ZPD is going to make it." She worried out loud.

"Never mind that Carrots I'm not going to let these guys get away. We'll just call in our position so backup can find us." He spoke quickly and with authority. Gone was the fun loving fox; this was Nick when the world needed a hero and he decided he fit the bill. Judy was glad he could be serious when the time called. "Hang on Carrots!" He shouted.

Before Judy knew what was going on Nick swung a hard right after the van. Their momentum carried them into the curb which the tires jumped up on. For a second they were driving on the sidewalk. Nick was fast to act and pulled back onto the road so he didn't hit anyone.

"I hope the ZPD pays for the damages to this thing." Nick muttered as he shifted back into forth gear.

Again the van took a hard turn; this time to the left. But Nick was ready for it this time. He shifted back into third gear and the engine roared in protest, but is slowed them down so they could make the turn without fishtailing off the road again. As soon as they were straightened out Nick shifted back to forth.

After they rounded the last turn Nick and Judy could both see the bridge. There was no one there yet. No police cruisers, no blockade waiting to save the day. They were on their own. Judy cursed under her breath and Nick floored the gas pedal.

Since Nick was busy with driving; Judy picked up the mike to the CB. "This is Officer Judy Hopps to Officer Graves. Do you read me?"

"I read you Hopps."

"We're approaching the bridge and backup hasn't showed up. We're going to keep pursuing the van. We'll update our position as needed."

"Roger that Hopps. Backup is on its way, just hang in there."

"Will do, thanks." She released the button and replaced the mike next to the radio.

As it was late and almost dark nobody really would be driving on this road. So all they needed to do was keep track of the van and they would be alright. That could prove hard if the van turns off into the trees. Then they could lose them.

Even with everything that was going on there was one thing that was bugging Judy. Obviously Nick was going to tell her something important earlier when they were dancing together. She had no idea what it was. It was enough to have him acting weird. And that meant it was getting to him, and very few things got to him; so it was really important.

"Nick I know this isn't a good time to ask. But what were you going to say before my parents called?"

Nick went rigid. "I really don't think this is good time to have _that_ conversation. I promise I'll tell you after we catch these guys."

"I'm going to hold you to that, I know it was important and- Nick they're turning look out!" She screamed.

Nick barely had time to hit the brakes before he hit the van they were chasing. And even with his slowed speed they were still too fast to make a turn like that. "Hold on again Carrots!" He spun the wheel hard to the left and did a full U-turn and then swung to the right directly onto the dirt road the van had turned down.

Nick started applying the speed again. "Slow down Nick! If you go too fast we might lose control." She pointed up ahead where they could see the tail lights of the van. "They're going too fast on this dirt road and they're high profile. I hate to say it but there's a huge chance they might roll themselves on a turn they don't see coming."

Nick nodded his head and slowed down enough so that he could still keep up and maneuver.

Once again Judy reached over and picked up the radio. "This is Officer Hopps. Me and Officer Wilde just turned down a dirt road about ten miles out of town on the left side of the road. We're still in pursuit of the white van."

This time around a new voice came over the radio. One that both the fox and rabbet were relieved and terrified to hear. The voice of Chief Abrams Bogo. "Hopps, Wilde! What are you two doing?! I put you both on leave and you decide to work on the case anyway?! I swear if this isn't some kind of crazy coincidence I'll have your badges by the end of the night!"

Nick took the mike from Judy and put it near his mouth. "It's nice to hear you too Chief. Now could you please, with sugar on top; let the backup know where we are?"

"Shut that smart little mouth of yours Wilde!" There was a pause. "And yes I'll let them know." He said it much more quietly and almost like he was, ashamed?

Neither Nick or Judy had much time to think about it as they saw the van's tail lights disappear. Ether they had suddenly shut them off or they had gone around a sharp corner. When their car reached the spot they discovered it was indeed a corner. Along the outside edge of it there was a hill that sloped down pretty steeply. As Nick rounded the corner he couldn't see any sign of the van. So he started picking up speed again.

It was pretty dark. The only light was the last remnants from the sun set and the car's lights. So it was pure luck as they were turning around the corner that Judy was looking out the side window, when she saw more light.

Right as Nick started picking up speed again Judy saw the van's headlights down the hill. It was on its side. They must not have seen the turn and ran right off the side of the road. "Stop Nick! I see the van!"

He slammed on the breaks and the car skidded to a stop. "Where?!" He looked to her and saw her pointing down the hill. "Great I hope we don't have to chase them on foot."

"Yeah me too. Let's just hope it knocked them out."

They unbuckled and mentally prepared themselves for anything. "You ready Carrots?" She nodded her head. "Alright, let's do this."

They both jumped out of the convertible. As they walked down the hill towards the over turned van they were giving each other paw signals. It was agreed that Nick would approach the van and see what the situation was and how bad it was. If thinks started getting bad and any one was awake Judy would come in from the side for a sneak attack. They nodded and smiled at each other one last time before they split up.

As Nick approached the wreck he saw the lynx already getting back to his feet using a nearby tree to help him out. They met eyes and both froze on the spot.

The lynx cracked a smile and spoke in a raspy voice. It sounded a lot like Manchas only he had a different accent. "Let me tell you this much, you've got a fast ride. I've always been able to outrun the people chasing me."

Nick skipped the pleasantries and cut right to the point. "Why would you and Grant steal from that observatory? What did they ever do to you?"

Another smile crossed the feline's face. "So it is true that when you and that rabbit get put on a case you get results. I'm surprised you two figured it out. By the way where is the cute little thing?"

"She stayed behind to bring backup. And you _are_ Ryan Snowlence. And you and your brother have been stealing from the Yacks Observatory."

"Yeah pretty much." He shrugged with his answer.

"How did you guys get out of maximum security prison?" Nick asked in bewilderment.

"Let me tell you the truth. We didn't. Every time we have a job our boss comes and picks us up. When that job is done he puts us right back. We'll be back in there before morning and no one will be the wiser."

"You're wrong there buddy; you just told me how you do it." Nick smirked.

"No, I believe **you** are the one that is wrong. If I'm guessing correctly since you guys figured out who we are; you know what we do to people that catch us."

Nick's eyes widened as the cat reached into his jacket and pulled out a revolver. Not just a tranquilizer that looked like a revolver; a real gunpowder powered; lead firing gun. As fast as he possibly could Nick ran straight at Ryan.

 _ **CRACK**_

Nick's ears were wringing and his vision was very blurry, somehow he was on the ground. When he tried to sit up pain exploded in his right shoulder. So much pain all he could do was grunt as stars appeared in his vision. He had been shot. His plan did work however; by running straight towards Ryan it made it hard it line up a shot. So he only got hit in the shoulder and not the head.

" **NICK!"** Judy's voice screamed out from behind the cat, it was filled with fear and anguish. This had Nick trying to roll over so he could see what was happening. He didn't want Judy to get hurt.

When the gun went off Judy was still getting a running start to do a double kick to the back of the thief's head. When she saw Nick lying on the ground motionless. Her heart broke and the worst outcome came to mind. She couldn't help the scream for him that that she uttered while in midair.

Nick had rolled over, the adrenaline coursing through his veins dulling the pain and giving him strength. He looked up at Ryan to see the most frightening thing in his entire life. Most people would think that would be staring down the barrel of the gun, but that was not it. Nick looked up to see the lynx in mid turn with a paw reached out with Judy heading right for it. Nick watched helplessly as his friend, partner, and the bunny he loved was caught right out of the air by her foot.

Judy curled upwards and started striking the huge paw that held her upside down. She relaxed after a second and started using her other leg to try to kick the cat's wrist, all to no avail.

"Ah ah ah." The feline raised his other paw and wiggled his finger. "We won't be having any of that."

"You don't scare me thief!" She yelled.

"Oh, well let me tell you something. You're just a tiny cute little thing to me. I could end you so fast you wouldn't even feel it!" He spat.

Judy's lips curled back in a vicious snarl. "You don't have the guts!" She growled between clinched teeth.

The cat stood up straight "I don't? Well how about this!" The lynx turned so fast swinging Judy by her leg. At the last possible second he let go of her. She flew through the air and slammed, back first, into one of the massive trees with a sickening smack. The impact made her back bend backwards in an unnatural way around the tree. There was no delay on her fall; no staying stuck to the tree for a second. She literally bounced off of it and landed on her front.

Nick watched all this in silent horror. He was unable to utter a single word. When Judy made contact with the ground, her and Nick met eyes. She held her paw out to try to reach him. Her eyes were filled with pain, fear, and regret. Her paw swayed and dropped to the ground as her eyes fell shut.

" **JUDY!"**

Ryan walked over to the bunny. "Oh shut up fox! I'll get to you in a minute." He said as he pointed the gun at her limp body.

 _NO NO NO!_ Nick didn't know how but he was up and he was running.

"So much for the first bunny cop." Ryan laughed. Then he pulled the trigger.

 _ **BANG**_

When he surveyed his work he expected to see just the bunny. But that wasn't the case. In the last possible second Nick had dived over Judy's body and shielded her from the bullet.

"Two with one bullet." He laughed. There was no way they both survived a full metal jacketed round. It would have gone through both of them and into the ground a ways.

Ryan pulled out a simple walkie-talkie. "Grant I've taken care of the cops. Come pick me up; we have a delivery to make." After that he turned away from the fox and rabbit and walked back up the hill where another white van was already waiting for him.

Pain; unimaginable pain. This is all Nick Wilde could focus on; was the pain. Suddenly he felt another massive burst of adrenaline. "Judy." He mumbled voice sounding drunk.

He tried to roll off his friend but the pain seared through his shoulder and now in his abdomen even worse than before. He waited a second and tried again, this time with success. Then he crawled up to Judy's chest and laid his head on it. Nothing; no heartbeat.

This caused Nick to start panicking. He moved his ear to her mouth; he couldn't hear her breathing either. Nick started breathing hard and his heart rate picked up. He put his paws under himself and pushed up. He didn't care about the pain anymore.

He leaned over the bunny and undid the Velcro that held the vest closed. As soon as her chest was exposed he started doing compressions. Each and every one shot pain down his back and arm; but it didn't matter. Almost immediately his blood from his shoulder was starting to get on her.

"Come on Hopps, wake up." After the first set of compressions he leaned down and blew air into her mouth. He couldn't help but notice how soft her lips were. It was a sick thought to have at this moment and Nick hated himself for it.

Again he started another set of compressions. He was starting to become frantic. _Could she be gone? No! I won't believe that! Never!_ As he continued he started hearing pops and cracks. They were the sounds of her ribs breaking and it brought the fox to tears. He would **never** hurt her, and yet here he was breaking her ribs trying to save her life. "Come on Judy. Don't do this to me."

Nick leaned down and gave her air and started compressions again. "Please Judy. Don't do this." Tears were now freely streaming down his face. But he didn't stop: Give breath, compressions, give breath, compressions.

After so many sets of compressions he had lost count Nick slowly began to realize the bunny was gone and he couldn't bring her back.

Judy Hopps was dead.

Nick was shaking because of his crying. "No no nononono." He leaned down and put an arm around her little body and another behind her head. Slowly with all his remaining strength he sat up with her cradled in his arms.

"Why Judy? Why do you have to go? I never got to tell you how I felt. I never got to hold you when you cried. I never got to kiss you every day. I never got to say how much I love you. There I said it! And you'll never hear it. I love you Judy Hopps and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He leaned forward and placed a tinder kiss on the top of her head.

He cried like he never had before. He cried harder than when he was bullied by the ranger scouts. He cried harder than when his dad died. He sat rocking back and forth with the only person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with cradled in his arms as he slowly stroked her velvety ears.

But then he heard something. And he was silent for a second thinking it might be the backup they were promised. Then he heard it again. It wasn't the sound of police cars.

It was a little gasp. He must be going crazy. His heart broken mind must be making this up to deal with the trauma. But again he heard a gasp, this time louder.

Thinking he was crazy to even think such a thing Nick leaned his ear down to Judy's mouth and listened. What he heard brought fresh tears to his eyes.

He heard the bunny in his arms breathing. Judy Hopps was alive! Nick held her close and thanked whatever god was out there for a second chance. Again he cried, he cried because of the relief he felt.

Suddenly Nick was aware of how cold he was and how dizzy he was starting to feel. A quick mental survey told him he felt particularly cold on his shoulder and on his lower back. This told him both the bullets went all the way through him. This was good and bad. Good because there weren't any bullets in his body that a doctor would need to find. And bad because he was losing blood faster because of it.

He needed to get to his car to call in Evac. Otherwise he would bleed to death before they got here. As carefully as he possibly could he stood up with Judy still in his arms. One step at a time he climbed the hill. He didn't want to hurt Judy further so he took it even slower.

After what felt like a thousand mile walk Nick reached his car. Both doors were still open from their rush to get down there which he was thankful for.

He slowly climbed into the passenger side with Judy still in his arms. He switched to supporting her with his one good arm and reached for the mike with the other. When he got it close enough to his mouth he hit the button.

"This, is. Officer, Wilde. Both Officers, Hopps, and I, are. Severely injured." He was having a really hard time talking and he was starting to shiver uncontrollably from the coldness he felt. "Our position is, ten and a half, miles, out of, town. Three, miles down, a, dirt road, on the, left." The pauses between his words were getting longer.

"I'm..not…sure….how..much…longer..we…can.. Last." After that he dropped the radio. "Don't….worry…Carrots…we'll….be….alright." The last word was a whisper.

He knew he was going to pass out and he didn't want to drop Judy. So using all the remaining energy he had left the fox reached down and pulled a lever and the seat reclined back.

"There….now….we….can….relax." The last thing Nick saw was his partner. She was so beautiful, especially with the way a red and blue glow seamed to dance over her gray fur.

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 **Alright here I am at two twenty seven in the morning. I started working on this at ten and couldn't stop. Believe it or not I've had the idea for this chapter in my head since before I even started working on this story. Wow my life has really changed since then.**

 **Now my first question for the chapter is did I make you cry? I actually made myself cry while I was writing the part where Judy died. How did I do with the chase scene and the rest of the action-y parts?**

 **I know I said this was going to be the last chapter in the arc but I'm not sure yet. I think I can do better. Next chapter maybe?**

 **Also what do you guys think about what Ryan told Nick. Who is pulling the strings?**

 **Next off I would like to send out a massive thanks to all the people that have liked, faved, and followed this story. And I would also like to welcome everyone than is new. These last few chapters were some really big ones. And seeing your feedback has made the lack of sleep more than worth it. Thank you guys so much!**

 **Okay last but not even close to least. I got permission to use some art by the amazing artist Asestrada157 over on deviantart for a scene in this chapter. The picture is amazingly well done. You guys NEED to go check it out. Not only does it show sort of what happened in this chapter, Asestrada deserves every bit of praise for the work they put into it.**

 **Look up** **cry by Asestrada157 to see the picture.**

 **Thank you so so much for letting me barrow this Asestrada! When you said I could I just had to cry a little I was so happy.**

 **I'm sorry to say but updates are going to slow down a tiny bit for now. I will try my absolute hardest to get one out every two weeks.**

 **That's all for now guys. Bye! :)**


	11. Rocky Road of Recovery

**Hello everybody! How have you all been? It's my pleasure to welcome you all back to another chapter of To Stand Together or Not at All! Yay! Alright let's get down to business! This is a huge chapter; really big things happens. With that said I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

 **Rocky Road of Recovery**

* * *

 **Chapter quote:**

 **"I must not fear. Fear is a mind-killer, the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over and through me, and when it has gone past. I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."**

 **-Frand Herbert**

 **Bonus** **quote: "The only thing we have to fear is fear its self."**

 **-Franklin D. Roosevelt**

* * *

It was Sunday morning in the city of Zootopia. Precinct 1 was relatively busy. Everyone wanted to go spend a day camping. So it wasn't busy around the city like it was on week days. Within the station everyone was gathered in the bull pen waiting for Chief Bogo to come in and give out assignments.

Bogo was a very punctual mammal; he always did everything on time and in a pattern. So when he was five minutes late for the briefing it had the whole room completely silent and dreading his arrival. The last time he was late there had been a murder that was linked to a serial killer the night before. But that was a long time ago and the murderer had since been taken care of.

Just those facts alone were enough to have the senior cops really worried about what had happened. So here sat the Precinct 1 police force all crammed into one little room worrying about what was making their boss unusually late for the meeting.

When at long last the buffalo stepped through the door the tension in the room tripled. It was obvious that he hadn't slept at all the night before. His uniform was a mess and he had bags under his eyes. Surprisingly his eyes were full of fire and determination, and some anger.

Quietly he walked to his podium at the front of the room. The only sound was the thump thump thump of his hooves on the floor. When he reached the small wooden fixture he stood and silently addressed everyone there.

When Bogo at last spoke it was as if a canon went off in contrast to the quiet that had dominated the room. "Last night at seven forty-five we received a destress call. The call was from Hopps and Wilde who had been on a date at the Yacks observatory earlier that night. Apparently they managed to catch one of our thieves in the act. They pursued the mammal all the way out of the city limits of Zootopia. After the vehicle the suspect was driving turned onto a dirt road; they lost control and went off the road. Seeing the opportunity Hopps and Wilde tried to apprehend the suspect, they were both unable to do so. Wilde was shot two times and Hopps has sustained several broken ribs and a heart attack most likely caused by shock. They are still both alive and are in the hospital."

Everyone in the room let out a massive breath in relief. As the chief had been talking they had grown more and more nervous and worried that the cute couple hadn't made it.

"Alright everyone settle down! All of your assignments are now on the back burner. This is now priority number one! Until either Hopps or Wilde wakes up to tell me. I want everything done to figure out who almost killed two of my cops. Do everything you can to stop these guys. Dismissed!"

* * *

 **Two weeks later**

* * *

In the IC unit at Zootopia general hospital there was a room. In this room was a fox. Nick had sustained two bullet wounds; one to the shoulder and the other to the very outside edge of his abdomen. Both caused major bleeding and required minor surgery to save his life.

In the same room as before there was also a bunny that shouldn't be alive, but still was, against all odds. Judy had received extreme damage to her back. The only reason she didn't die instantaneously was because of the braces in her vest she was wearing. They didn't know the extent of the damage however. It could be very minor and she might have some back pains later in her life when she gets older. Or it could be very severe and damaged her spinal cord which could paralyze her for the rest of her life.

The list went on: dislocated knee, all the stitches she had received earlier that week had also been ripped so she bled quite a bit too. She also had a moderate concussion, several broken and fractured ribs; both from the front and the back. One of the worst of all was what the shock did to her body.

You see shock can do a multitude of things to your body to deal with pain. It can knock someone out to end the pain. It can also lower your ability to comprehend things and start to shut the body down.

But that is only the beginning; that is what you call emotional shock. This is part of what happened to Judy. The other side of the coin revealed that she had also experienced medical shock; cardiogenic shock to be exact. That meant her heart was unable to pump enough blood around her body causing a drop in blood pressure which was the cause to the shock in the first place.

This is what happened to Judy. In the few seconds after she was thrown into the tree. A combination of adrenaline and fear for herself and Nick, along with the snowballing effect the low blood pressure caused her heart to just stop beating all together.

It was a gross understatement to say she was lucky to be alive.

So now Nick Wilde sat in an uncomfortable chair in a white room watching his friend lay in her bed. The room wasn't special in any way; it was a normal hospital room. There was a couch along one wall and two chairs the one Nick was sitting in and one by the head of the bed. Along with those was a small table that went over the bed so whoever was in it could eat. And of course there was a small TV across from the bed hung up by the ceiling.

This was all the fox had known since he had woken up. He wouldn't leave the room as soon as he found out where it was. Several doctors and nurses had tried to talk him into going back to his own. He either ignored them or argued. Eventually Chief Bogo himself had told them that he could be there. They still had yet to move a bed into the room for him.

When Nick had woken up Bogo had hounded him about what had happened. He had to retell everything that happened. It was like reliving a nightmare. They had argued about if it was really Ryan that they had seen. It was an argument that they were still sore about. They had pretty much been yelling in each other's faces. The chief did mention that he was sorry that he couldn't have done more to have prevented the whole situation. At least Nick knew he cared, which he was grateful for.

That was the only interaction he had from the ZPD, other than some of their friends showing up with flowers and get well cards. Clawhauser being the most frequent. He stopped in every couple of days with a massive bouquet to see how his favorite couple was recovering.

Nick sat quietly watching and waiting. He was immensely tired. This would be the fifth day he would go without a full night's sleep. He kept having nightmares. They had started as soon as he had woken up and had plagued him every time he closed his eyes. Every time he did visions of Judy being thrown and lying on the ground in pain while she reached out to him replayed before him in more than perfect clarity. No matter how fast he ran he never made it to her in time. He'd always wake up in a panic right before he got to her.

The first time this happened his body was fully awake but his mind wasn't. He was still in the dream. He couldn't really remember that much from that night. Most of what he did remember was of him running through the halls on all fours looking for Judy. According to everyone he asked; one of the security guards had hit him with a tranquilizer so he wouldn't further injure himself with the exertion.

Nick was interrupted from his thoughts when the door to the room opened and in walked Judy's mom; Bonnie, with a tray of food in her paws. She and her husband Stu both had come into Zootopia as soon as they heard about what had happened to their daughter. Stu had stayed as long as possible but eventually was forced to return home to run the farm and help take care of the littler kids. Bonnie had stayed to be with Judy when she woke up.

Nick's mother had also showed up as soon as she heard the news. She'd stuck around until Nick woke up to make sure he was going to be alright. She had visited several times since then for a couple hours each.

"You hungry Nick? I brought you some lunch." Bonnie asked hoping he'd say yes. He hadn't eaten in a few days and she was getting worried about him.

"No thanks Mrs. Hopps. I'm not really that hungry." That was exactly what he had said the last three days. This only made Bonnie worry more.

Bonnie put the tray down on the small table next to the bed in case he changed his mind. Then she turned and glared at the fox. "What have I told you? Stop calling me 'Mrs. Hopps.' If it wasn't for what you sacrificed." She gestured at the bandages around Nick's shoulder and abdomen. "My Judy wouldn't be alive right now. "Call me Bonnie, heck call me mom if you want! It's the very least I can do. If you keep calling me Mrs. Hopps you're going to start making me feel old."

The last part put a small smile on Nick's face. "Okay, okay Bonnie you win I'll quit being so polite." He said with an eye roll.

It was a rare thing nowadays for Nick to smile. _When was the last time I smiled anyway? Was the last time really the night at the observatory?_ He found himself thinking.

He felt as if the light in his world was fading. The light that had literally bounced into his life and pulled him out of the darkness he had surrounded himself in for so long. He was scared of losing Judy. That had the smile fading from his face faster than a candle can be blown out.

After his comment Bonnie saw the distant look return to Nick's eyes as he once again focused on Judy. She knew he cared for her deeply. That was normal for police partners. He hadn't eaten in three days and had no sleep in the last five. He wouldn't leave the room. He could hardly stand to keep his eyes off of her. Several times she had come in, in the mornings to see him holding her paw and talking quietly to her.

Bonnie too looked over at her daughter lying in the bed. Her condition had improved a little. She had started twitching in her unconscious state more. Her vital signs were getting stronger as well. She was recovering, but one wouldn't use the word well. There was still the huge chance that Judy could be paralyzed.

It would break the poor bunny's heart. Bonnie didn't know what would happen to her if she couldn't be a cop any more. She could only hope and pray that she would make a full recovery.

* * *

 **Later That Night**

* * *

Bonnie was sitting in the chair next to Judy's bed crocheting another treasure bag for one of her kids. Each one she made was unique in design and color; she also liked to put a name on them so there wasn't any fighting about whose was who's. She always liked to do this but rarely found the time anymore because she had so many kids. As much as she hated to admit it the time away from home was kind of a nice break.

She was interrupted in her work when she herd Judy take a deep breath. The exact same sound someone makes when they first wake up, a cross in between a yawn and a groan. The older doe looked over at her daughter. Judy had stirred a little bit but was still asleep. This wasn't the first time Judy had done this but it was becoming more and more frequent.

Bonnie watched for a second but when Judy didn't move any more she went back to her crocheting. After another five minutes or so Judy stirred again.

Slowly Judy's eyes fluttered open, but she didn't have the energy to keep them open and they closed again. She sat for a second trying to remember anything really. She couldn't remember any dreams, what happened the night before, or where she was.

Then it all returned in a flash: her date, the music, the dancing, the stars, the planets, the chase, Ryan, and Nick. She remembered Nick getting shot! What happened? What happened to her? More importantly what happened to Nick?

Judy's eyes flew open and she bolted up right. "Nick?!" Then she felt the pain. Her back felt like it had been hit with a sledge hammer. Her leg and knee exploded in pain. And her entire chest seamed to constrict around an expanding ball of spikes. It was excruciating.

Instantly Bonnie was up and at Judy's side her crocheting forgotten. Judy had stopped breathing and her eyes were rolling back into her head from the pain. "Judy! Relax I'm here. It's okay, it's okay." She reached out and helped the young bunny recline back into the pillows. After a second Judy was able to chance breathing again. She was one step away from panicking, and Bonnie could see it.

Judy looked up at her mom's face. She was barely holding back tears. "Mom?"

"I'm right here bun bun. You're alright." She soothed.

It hurt to talk but she had to ask. "Where's Nick? Is he Okay?" She started crying more.

"It's alright honey. Nick is fine." She paused. "He saved you; you wouldn't be here right now if he didn't." Bonnie leaned forward and embraced the hurt doe. Giving as much support as possible

"What happened? Where is he?" Judy needed to see him or she was going to lose her mind.

Bonnie leaned back and looked in her daughter's purple eyes. She could see so much fear and pain in them. It wasn't like Judy to be afraid of anything. For Nick's safety to have Judy this worked up and this afraid there was something more than met the eye. Bonnie could see it in Judy's eyes; she loved that fox.

"He's alright Judy, he's over there." She pointed across the room to the fox. He had fallen asleep in the same chair he had been sitting in earlier. The way he was sprawled out in the over sized chair made Bonnie's back hurt.

Judy looked at her friend. He looked terrible. He was only wearing a pair of shorts but his entire upper half was covered in bandages. She couldn't make out all the details but she could see several cuts on his face and neck all the way down to his bandaged shoulder. The sight had Judy beside herself.

She looked at her mother again and whispered. "What happened?"

Bonnie hated seeing any of her children cry. She wrapped her arms around Judy in a loving embrace. "It's going to be alright bun bun. Nick is just fine; he's still his witty self. He just hasn't had much sleep lately."

Judy hugged her mom back and tucked her head under her chin. She felt like a little kit again after she hurt herself playing. They stayed like that as Bonnie told everything she knew about what had happened. At one point a nurse came in and was shocked to see Judy awake. She went about getting Judy something to help with the pain. She left with the promise that she would be checking on her often and that a doctor would be in to talk to her within the hour.

After Judy was situated with another IV and was starting to feel a little better. Both she and her mom were quiet for a long moment. Judy was trying to deal with the shock of what had happened. And her mother was just watching, ready to give more moral support if needed.

"You love him don't you." It wasn't much of a question, more of a statement.

Judy was baffled by what her mother had just said. "What?"

Bonnie sighed. "Nick; you love him don't you?"

Judy could not even begin to imagine just how her mother had found out. She had done such a good job of hiding it. Hadn't she? "How, how do you know?"

"You've been staring at him for the last ten minutes. You were in tears about what happened to him. You were in a panic until you knew where he was." She paused thinking. "He's one of the only things you ever talk about when your father and I call." Judy was about to interrupt but her mom beat her to it. "Let's see I've got more. As far as I know you two spend a lot of time around each other, even when you're not at work. You were on a date with him for peat's sake! It really wasn't that hard for me to figure it out. Plus I'm your mom I know these kinds of things."

Judy crossed her arms and looked away from her mom with an ashamed look on her face. "Fine, you've made your point. Now you know. I'm a weird bunny for falling in love with a fox."

"I never said that. You're my daughter Judy. I would never think you're weird for that. Now I have a question for you: Why haven't you told him how you feel?"

Judy was really at a loss, too much had and was happening for her mind to process it all. Why hadn't she told Nick? What was the real reason? Deep down she knew, but she didn't want to admit it.

"I don't know mom." she paused for a long moment. Long enough that Bonnie thought she was done talking. After another moment Judy spoke again. "I'm scared. I don't know what he'll think. For all I know he will think I'm weird and not want to have anything to do with me anymore. I don't want to lose what we have right now. And even if by some miracle he didn't think I was some sort of freak. He probably doesn't feel the same."

Bonnie leveled a serious look at Judy. "Judy, do you remember what you told me and your father the day you left for Zootopia? I do. 'The only thing to fear is fear itself.' You're right you know? I was afraid for you when you said you wanted to be a cop. But look how you turned out. Sure things like this happen and believe me it still scares me to death. But you didn't let my or your father's fear get in your way to get where you are now. So if you want to go any farther don't let your own get in the way."

"I know mom but what if Nick doesn't like me like that? What if he wants to end our partnership?"

"Judy that fox got shot twice to save your life. He hasn't eaten in more than three days and hasn't slept in over five. He can hardly stand to leave this room. Every morning I come in and see him holding your paw like you're going to disappear. Even if he doesn't love you back, I'm sure he would still be your friend." Her phone buzzed interrupting her. After she silenced the thing she looked back at Judy. "I'm really sorry to do this to you but I have to go for the night. They'll kick me out if I don't."

Judy sighed. "That's alright mom. Thank you."

Bonnie reached in for one last hug before she left. "I love you Judy I'll see you in the morning."

Judy hugged back happy that she had been able to talk and be listened to. "I love you too mom."

As Bonnie walked by the chair with Nick in it she paused and looked at the fox. She turned around and looked back at Judy who had relaxed back into the pillows and had her eyes closed again.

After another second of thought Bonnie reached out and shook Nick's shoulder gently. "Nick. Nick honey." His eyes fluttered open and he looked at her with a sleepy expression. "Wake up. Judy is awake."

As soon as she had uttered the words Nick was instantly awake. He was about to get up but Bonnie put a paw on his shoulder stopping him. "She's been through a lot and needs you. More than you may realize. I'm trusting you to take care of her. Can you do that?" She already knew he would, even before she asked, but she still needed to hear it.

Nick looked Bonnie in the eyes. "I'll do whatever it takes." Even though he had just been asleep moments ago Nick spoke with complete conviction. Bonnie knew that he spoke the truth; his wounds were testament to that.

The old doe took her paw off Nick's chest and placed it on his cheek. "Thank you, Nick, for everything." He nodded back at her. Bonnie picked her crochet bag up from where she had put it down on the floor and walked to the door. As she opened the door she turned around to take one last look at Judy. She was relaxed back on the pillows. With one ear flopped back across the pillow and the other leaned over her shoulder. Even from here anyone could tell she had been through a lot. After a moment she turned and closed the door behind her and was gone.

A few seconds later Nick braced himself with his paws on the chair and heaved himself up. Judy was awake. He had prayed for this moment countless times. But now that it was here he didn't know what to do, didn't know what to feel, didn't know what to think.

Slowly he made his way over to the bed she was in. Not because it hurt to move but because he didn't know what to do and was buying time to think by walking slow. When he at last reached the bed he wasn't any more prepared then when he left the chair.

Nick sat down in the chair next to the bed and took a deep breath, his head swimming with nervousness. "Judy, are you awake?"

Her eyes flew open and they met Nick's. To the count of two they didn't move, didn't speak, and didn't even breathe. Just as suddenly as they had opened Judy's eyes filled with tears and she leaned forward. Nick caught her half way in an embrace that said more than any words ever could. They both cried, not caring that they were. They were crying for each other and all the pain they had gone through. They cried because they made it through and were able to hold the other again.

"Oh N-Nick, I was s-so scared. So scared that-that I had lost y-you." Nick only responded by holding her closer and stroking her ears. They fell quite just reinforcing the fact that they were really still alive and together.

After several minutes they were reasonably calmed down. They separated and looked into the other's eyes. Judy broke the silence. "Nick, are you alright?" He started to shake his head yes, but thought better of it and shook it no. "Nick please tell me. It's alright."

Nick hated himself at that moment. He was supposed to be giving support to Judy. Not the other way around. All the grief, all the stress, all of; _everything_ had come to a head. And Judy was the only one he was comfortable to let it out around.

Nick leaned forward and embraced Judy again. "I'm sorry Judy. I'm so sorry. All this is my fault. I should have never taken you to the observatory." His voice was thick with emotions and Judy could tell he was starting to cry again. All she could do was hug him back and listen.

"When I saw you get caught I was so scared. I've never been so scared in my life. Then he threw you. I watched you die Judy. Right in front of me and I couldn't do a thing! I was afraid I'd never get to tell you."

Judy had started crying again too as she held Nick and rubbed his back. He must have gone through hell. She felt so bad for causing him to worry so much.

What did he mean that he'd never get to tell her? Tell her what? "Tell me what? What do you want to tell me Nick?" Nick stayed quite not saying a word. Judy let go of him and leaned back again. Then she reached forward and grabbed his muzzle and made him look in her tear filled eyes. "Nick, please tell me. You don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."

Nick looked in to her amethyst eyes. She was begging him to trust her. She trusted him completely, but did he trust her just as much?

Nick blinked once. _I have to tell her._

Twice _It's now or never Wilde!_

Three times "I love you Judy."

He could hardly comprehend the words as they left his mouth. Silence fell over both of them. Neither even breathed. Both their minds had a hurricane of thoughts whizzing around them.

Just as suddenly as the silence had fallen Nick broke it. "I have for a while now. I was just too afraid and too stupid to tell you because of what you might think. I also didn't want our friendship to change because of it. But after almost losing you I can't live with this secrete anymore. I love you Judy Hopps. Even if you don't love me back. I hope you'll at least still want to be my friend."

Judy was silent, her eyes were wide and ears standing straight up. It _all_ made since now. So, so many things made since now. His reaction to her radio getting broke. Her falling off that shed. And most of all the reason he took the bullet for her. Their date, and his well-planned dance with her. This must have been what he wanted to tell her then. It all made since now!

"Nick, why didn't you tell me sooner? You've made me suffer for so long." As she spoke Nick's ears fell lower and lower. "Do you know why?" He shook his head which she was still holding. She leaned forward and put her mouth right next to his left ear and whispered. "Because I love you too, you dumb fox."

Nick's ears shot up and he pulled back to get a look at Judy's face. She had a shy but happy look on her face as she looked up at him. Nick might say it was cute, but the thought never even crossed his mind. "You, you lov-?"

"Yes, I love you too Nick!" She lunged forward and grabbed him with as much power as she could without causing herself pain.

They had been through it all. In the last ten minutes they had started and stopped crying not on but two times. Then they confessed their love for each other. It was an emotionally exhausting ten minutes to say the least.

Nick leaned back and cupped Judy's face in his paws. Slowly they leaned in until they met in a kiss. It was a little odd at first because of the shape of their muzzles. Nick's nose smashed into Judy's. But it was still perfect.

Nick couldn't believe what was happening. He was kissing Judy Hopps! And Judy was kissing him back! For months he had wanted to do this, but didn't because he didn't know what she would think about her partner trying to kiss her. They pulled away from each other foreheads still resting together however. It wasn't a long or short kiss. But they wouldn't have it any other way.

When Nick opened his eyes he saw Judy doing the same. They met eyes again and just stared. They were trying to process what had just happened and whether or not it was a dream.

Judy cracked a smile and started giggling. Nick smiled too. "May I ask what is so funny?"

"I'm happy." She answered and then paused for a second. "That was actually my first kiss." She looked up at him blushing.

"Really?! You've never kissed anyone before?" Nick was shocked. Judy was a beautiful bunny. He assumed the bucks would be all over her.

"I told you Nick I didn't even get a date to any of my proms. Of course I haven't kissed anyone before." She smiled even bigger. "That's why I'm laughing. I kissed the one fox I love!"

And just like that they forgot the pain, heart ache and the grief. They were just what the other needed. It was as if nothing had happened, they were just in the hospital for no reason at all, pretending they were hurt to get some time off. (Something Nick had actually suggested once) It didn't matter what had happened. It happened and nothing could change that. What did matter however was that they made it through; together. And that is what they would stay; Together.

* * *

 **Alright what did you think? Please please _please_ review! I'm begging. Tell me how I'm doing. Tell me if I made any spelling mistakes. Tell me what you like most about the story so far. Or what you don't like about it. That's good too. Give me constructive criticism! Please! I'm bumbling around here in the dark with a flash light that doesn't have any batteries. Help a guy out and lend a battery or two. It's appreciated beyond what words are able to express.**

 **Okay I think I need to explain one thing about shock. I originally thought it was a mental thing. You know scared beyond belief, your body trying to deal with pain, that sort of thing. But it's not. Believe it or not it has to do with blood pressure. If your blood pressure drops too much you go into shock. I would never have guessed. The shock Judy went into was cardiogenic shock. Which in short means her heart wasn't able to pump a sufficient amount of blood which made her blood pressure drop. This I would assume would have a snowball effect and get worse and worse until the heart stops and you die. There are other things that could have helped cause her shock too; the hit to the back being number one. But I won't go into that. Unless you guys what me to. Comment if you do.**

 **Now; last thing. A huge, huge thank you goes out to everyone that had Favorited, followed and reviewed and just taken the time out of their day to read this. This was not an easy couple of weeks for me. Seeing those numbers go up has _really_ helped me get through. Thank you guys so so much! Your support and feedback is appreciated beyond any words. Also if you haven't Favorited, followed and reviewed yet feel free to do so. You're always welcome along on this little adventure; I'd love to have you along.**

 **Okay I lied before this is the last thing. My updates might start to take a little longer. A recent development has a occurred I'm going to college. I honestly don't want to but the machinist apprenticeship I'm doing apparently requires that I prove that I'm not a dummy. Oh well But I'l be starting around the first half of the month of January and updates might slow down some until I'm adjusted.**

 **Well until next time. I wish you guys and gals the very best. Merry Christmas! And have a wonderful day or night wherever you are. :)**

 **Bye!**


	12. Bunny Tank Commander

**Hello guys. Welcome back To Stand Together or Not at All! I'm just picking up where last chapter left off. Expect lots of fluff. I hope you enjoy.**

 **Chapter 12**

 **Bunny Tank Commander**

 **Chapter quote:**

" **Don't let fear stop you from doing what you love."**

 **-Buster Moon**

* * *

The outside world ceased to exist for Nick and Judy. All that mattered right now was what they felt for each other. At least for this small moment the world seemed perfect again for the two.

 _Knock knock knock knock._

That was the end of that moment. Nick turned to look at the door and saw a badger in a doctor's coat standing there. Nick rolled his eyes. _Of course it's this guy. I don't know how he has such good timing._ It's was the same doctor that had done the surgery to stop him from bleeding to death. He'd also been monitoring Judy. It was Doctor Clay Stone.

"Hey I see you're awake Judy. My name is Doctor Clay Stone but you can call me Clay. I'm just here to see how you're doing after what happened." His voice was deep but smooth.

"Alright what do you need to know?" Judy responded happily. After what she just learned about Nick nothing could ruin her mood.

"Well first thing's first. I need to know the extent of the damage to your back. Can you move your feet for me?"

When Clay mentioned this it reminded Nick of how high the possibility was that Judy could be paralyzed. If she was paralyzed she couldn't be a cop any more. It would break her. All this had a knot of worry forming in Nick's gut.

Judy on the other paw had a puzzled look on her face. "Yeah of course I can move my feet." She threw back the covers and wiggled both her feet. She smiled. "See they work just fine."

Nick let out a breath in relief he didn't know he'd been holding. He put a paw on Judy's shoulder and gave her a squeeze. She smiled sweetly back at him at the contact.

Judy looked up at the doctor as he wrote on a clipboard. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

Clay was quite of a second as he finished writing. When he was done he looked up at the duo with a smile. "Actually I don't, other than the order not to overdo _anything_. You may need to wear a back brace when you move around to keep from hurting yourself. Other than that, that's all I need to know. I'll be back in the morning to check up again and run a few other tests." He paused to think for a moment. "Oh right. Nick we've gotten a bed for you. I'll have a nurse move it in here for you." He got up and walked to the door. "If either of you need anything just ask, we're happy to help. Good night." He said over his shoulder as he left the room.

Nick looked over and saw Judy giving him a hungry look. "Whatever you're thinking Carrots, stop thinking it."

"Not a chance Wilde. I don't think you'll be needing that bed."

Nick looked at Judy nervously. "And why is that Fluff." He already could guess what her answer would be.

"Because you're sleeping with me tonight. Let me tell you I can't wait to be cuddled up with you and be able to snuggle your tail to keep warm." The more she talked the more red her face and ears turned. But she just kept going on as if they weren't.

"Oh I thought you were talking about me staying on that boulder over there everybody called a chair. That's quite a relief Carrots." He gestured to the chair he had been occupying an hour before.

Judy finally broke eye contact and looked down at her paws in her lap. "Nick." She paused for a long second. "How long have you had feelings for me?"

Nick wasn't expecting this question to come up tonight. He knew it would eventually but not this soon. He sighed before answering. "Since the press conference. I didn't realize it until after I found out you left the city and it sunk in that I might never see you again."

Judy covered her mouth in surprise. "For that long? How could have I been so blind?" She bowed her head in shame.

"Because; 'never let them see that they get to you.' Remember?" Judy numbly nodded her head. "My question is how did I never pick up on how you felt? You're usually an open book; always wearing your emotions on your sleeve."

Judy looked up at him with a frown "Because; never let them see that they get to you." They were both silent for a long moment occasionally glancing at the other trying to gauge what they were feeling. After a second Judy broke the silence. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you how I felt. How could have I been so dumb and not see that I was hurting you?"

"Nick placed his paws on Judy's shoulders making her look up at him. "Judy I'm sorry I didn't tell you too. I was blinded by my fear. Just like before I met you." He moved his paws from her shoulders to her cheeks and leaned in and rested his forehead on hers. "But that is in the past now. Yes we could have gotten a better start on this had we not been dumb, but that is not going to stop me from trying to catch up for lost time."

Judy smiled up at him. "I guess that means I can do this." She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Nick tensed and then relaxed into the kiss in the same instant.

When they pulled apart Nick looked at Judy with caring eyes. "I'm gonna have to get used to being able to do that."

Judy's smile was broken by a big yawn. This made Nick yawn too. "Looks like some bunny is tired."

Judy buried her face in Nick's chest "Shut up." Then she wrapped her arms around him and laid back. "I'm going to sleep and you are too. I know you haven't been sleeping well."

Careful not to accidently hurt her Nick laid down beside Judy. "So Bonnie told you about that?"

"She just said you haven't been sleeping well." She said with another yawn.

"That's good; don't need her revealing any of my other foxy secrets." Nick's eyes were closed and his talking was going down in volume and speed.

Judy smiled as she looked at his relaxed face. She could only recall a pawful of times she had seen Nick this relaxed. She could not believe her luck. Nick loved her back! How? What force put them together? It was as if they were meant to be.

They went from barely tolerating each other, to working together, to friends, to partners, and now they were something more. She didn't dare question it. Rather she was going to make the best if it. Then it struck Judy. Did Nick want to date her? They didn't really say that they were officially a couple. Then another thought crossed her mind. They weren't in any kind of hurry. They had all day tomorrow to figure out what they wanted.

Judy snuggled up to Nick's side. He was so warm and soft. She rubbed her face into his arm enjoying the feeling. "Good night Nick. I love you." He didn't hear, he was already asleep. Judy rested her head on his arm and relaxed. Eventually sleep found her too.

Twenty minutes later a pair of nurses came into the room with Nick's bed, one a panther and the other a ewe.

"Hey Cody look." The ewe said gesturing at the fox and rabbit cuddling in the bed.

"See I told you Amber there was more between those two." Cody the panther said.

"Yeah you did. It's just kind of odd, don't you think?" Amber asked.

"Nah, Love is a strange thing that works in strange ways. Who am I to question it much less frown upon someone that had found it? Come on let's take the bed back and give them some quiet to rest."

"Alright Cody."

The pair quietly wheeled the bed out of the room. And once again silence was supreme.

* * *

 **Three days later**

* * *

It had been three days since Judy had woken up. Nick had been allowed to leave the hospital that morning but wasn't allowed to return to work. Amazingly Judy had been pretty well entertained for being stuck in a bed most of the time. The only times she was allowed to move where when she went to physical therapy, which started that same morning, and when she went to the bathroom.

Since Nick wasn't allowed back at work he had nothing better to do than to stay with Judy. But since he was allowed to leave Judy begged and begged him to get her lap top from her apartment. Nick had eventually given in and made the journey to her tiny home.

It had taken him a while to find what she had asked for she was very specific about the mouse and head phones. What was she going to need those for?

It had been forty minutes since he had gotten back with her stuff. So instead of sitting around and trying not to fall to sleep from shear boredom, Nick decided to get the rabbit and himself some lunch.

It was taking longer because he had stopped to talk to Judy's physical therapist.

"Like I said before Mr. Wilde she is very hurt and it's going to take a long time to heal, months even."

"There isn't anything you guys can do?" Nick asked worriedly. According to the therapist Judy was still too hurt to start therapy and needed more time to heal, which meant more time in the hospital.

"I'm sorry there isn't anything more we can do and if we rush this it could hurt her worse, possibly paralyze or even kill her."

Nick felt a faint feeling come over him at the mention of that. He didn't want to lose her again so he quit pressing for solutions that weren't there. "Alright. But when will she be able to come home? Being stuck here is starting to make her a little stir crazy.

"We'll see how she's doing in a few days."

"Alright, thanks doc."

"No problem Mr. Wilde."

When Nick walked back into his and Judy's room he was met with a sight he never in a million years would have expected.

Judy had the laptop on her lap and the head phones on. It looked like she was playing some game. "You guys ready? Hector, Erma, Emma, Floyd, and Saul. I want you to go into B8 and 9 and give support as soon as we light them up. Derrick, Paulette, Felicia, Allen, and Myra take your tank destroyers to the 0 line and try to do a wide flank you have an overlook of that whole side of the map from there. Frederick Melvin, Maureen, Mattie, Sammy, and Philip take your heavies down the B line into the town. Be ready to brawl and use your armor. Bridget, Paulette, Natalie, Verna, Lucy, and Lola take your lights where you think they'll be most needed. Erick I want you down with the heavies. Joe and Jon go with the Tank destroyers defend them if they get flanked. Daisy, Winston, Nathan and Jorg with me to the center! Remember guys we're here to have fun but also to try to win the day. Who are we?"

Over the head phones on Judy's ears Nick could hear a yelled response of 'Hopps!'

"What are you doing Carrots?" Nick asked from the door way still with the trays of food in his arms.

Judy looked up and smiled. "Oh high Nick! I'm playing World of Tanks." As soon as she finished talking she went back to her game. Nick was shocked. He would have never imagined that Judy Hopps would ever play any game. Other than maybe Super Bash Mammals, which she had talked about playing when she was way younger. Still trying to comprehend what was happening to his partner he set her food down on the table and sat down to eat and watch what Judy was doing.

Judy was quite throughout the game only every once and a while giving orders to her teams mates to push up or fall back to support another flank. Other than that she was quite with the face of pure concentration.

After the battle was over Judy bayed her family good bye. To their complaints and protests. "Don't worry guys I'll get back on some time in the near future." She was quite as she listened to their good byes. "Alright guys I love you all! Good job today!"

After Judy took the head phones off she looked at Nick who was staring at her as he ate.

"What?"

Nick swallowed and whipped his mouth on the back of his paw. "I would have never guessed that my perfect bunny cop partner would play computer games."

"What's wrong with that? I've played this since I was fifteen. And its tournaments time I thought the Hopps could try and win the world title again."

"I never said there was anything wrong. I'm just sort of surprised is all. You've never mentioned it or anything."

"Well this is the first time I've played since about a year before I started the academy. I'd forgotten about it until my brother called and asked if I wanted to play."

"So how does it work?" Nick asked.

"The game is all about battling tanks with your tanks to the death." She stated happily. "Tanks come in ten levels or tiers; one is the weakest and ten is the strongest. There's also different makers of the tanks there's the Gray Wolves, the Bison, and the Pandas, the Siberian Tigers, and the Lions just to name a few. There are a few more like the Roe Deer and the giant Hornets. Lastly there are also five different types of tanks you can play: light, mediums, heavies, tank destroyers, and mobile artillery." She made several paw gestures as she explained.

Nick gave Judy an amused look. She was really getting excited about this. "You've put a lot of time into this haven't you?"

Judy's ears drooped and she blushed "Maybe. Alright back on subject. Lights are the fastest and most mobile tanks. They usually have the best view range too. They're they eyes of the battle field.

Mediums are the all-around vehicles. Okay armor and okay guns and decent mobility. Their roll truly depends on how the battle is playing out. They can brawl, defend and attack. Pretty much what is needed most, they need to be.

Then there is the heavy. They have great armor and big guns but slower movement speeds and bad view ranges. These guys are the ones that fight their way through to victory, dishing out the hurt but not receiving much in return.

Then there are tank the destroyers they can have impenetrable armor and some of the larges guns in the game, but bad movement speeds. Or they can have no armor at all and smaller more precise guns and better movement capabilities. They also lack a fully traversable turret, some have them but not many. So they can get flanked very easily. In all they're the snipers of the game.

And last but not least there is the SPG or self-propelled gun or artillery for short. These glass canons have the largest guns in game and can shoot them all the way across the map, raining down fire from above. But they can only shoot what they can see, and they have really long reload times. So they rely heavily on the rest of the team to spot for them and a good hiding spot. They also have no armor to speak of so they are usually easy targets for lights and mediums."

"That's a lot to remember Carrots. How do you remember it all, is there a book I can read?" Nick paused as he seemed to come to a realization. "Come to think of I don't think I've ever seen you _nerd_ out on something other than how to grow plants and be the greatest cop there ever was."

"I am not nerding out over tanks! You're just imagining things! And I don't nerd out over plants, those are boring!" She sighed "I do have to admit defeat about the cop thing though." She mumbled the past part, but Nick still heard.

"You know you've got me intrigued I might try playing a game or two."

A big smile appeared on Judy's face and she clasped her pawn in front of herself. "Really Nick? You mean it?"

"Only on one condition, I get to be on your team." Judy nodded her head so furiously that her ears made flapping sounds. "Oh one more thing: You didn't think I wouldn't figure out what you were trying to do did you? You were trying to get me to play with you the whole time."

Judy tried to hide her smile but couldn't. "It worked didn't it?"

"Did it work? Yes, yes it did." Judy smiled and leaned in and gave Nick a quick kiss on the lips.

* * *

 **Much later that Night**

* * *

"Okay Nick angle your armor and wiggle your turret! Hide your weak spots!" Judy squealed in excitement.

Nick was sweating as he tried to follow Judy's tips while in battle. "I'm trying Carrots." He grunted. "You see unlike you I don't have a million battles under my belt."

"Quit your whining foxy. You're doing great! You're already almost to tier six and on your first day too. I didn't have my first tier ten until I had almost ten thousand games."

"This isn't going to become a regular thing is it? I don't want my bunny cop to lose her job now." Nick shot back.

"No it's not just while I'm stuck in this _super_ boring hospital." She countered.

They had been playing for several hours together because they didn't really have anything else better to do; it was a good way to pass the time. They had been interrupted once by Bogo who had come in to tell Nick and Judy that Ryan and Grant had disappeared from the Zootopia prison the night before.

" _I regret to inform the two of you this but Ryan and Grant have disappeared at some point last night. We've been keeping tight surveillance on them to see if they tried to make another move. And we were trying to keep our distance so whoever is letting them out might not notice and we'd be able to identify them. Unfortunately that seems to have failed"._

" _Why are you telling us this?" Nick asked in an agitated tone._

" _You both deserve to know after what happened."_

 _Judy perked up in excitement. "So does that meant that we can keep working on the-"_

" _No! Not until you're doth healed up and cleared for duty. Until then I don't want you anywhere near this case. Understood?"_

" _Yes sir." They said in unison._

"Come on 'Wildecard' they're taking our base!" Judy commanded happily.

"Roger that 'Bunny Cop' I'm right behind you." Nick had to admit this was fun. This was a side to Judy he didn't know even existed. _What other secrets do you have?_

There was a quiet knock at the door. After a second Bonnie stuck her head in to see what was going on. "Hey Bun Bun."

"Hi Mom." instantly Judy's attention went back to the game.

"Hi Mrs-" Bonnie's glare stopped him dead in his tracks. "I mean Bonnie. How are you doing on this fine evening?" _Now I know where Judy gets it from._

"I'm doing fine. How are the both of you holding up?"

Having finished the match Judy set her computer aside. "We're doing fine. Why do you ask?"

"Oh I'm just wondering like any mother would." She paused. "I have to go back home Judy."

"Right now? It's the middle of the night." Judy asked in surprise.

"The train tickets are slightly cheaper during late hours of the night." Judy's parents had originally come into Zootopia in their truck but Stu had taken it back when he left. So that left Bonnie taking the train home.

Bonnie walked over to Judy's bed and hugged her daughter lovingly. "Is there anything I can send you when I get back?"

"No mom I think we'll be fine." Judy reassured.

Bonnie noticed how Judy had said 'we'll' and smiled. "Is there anything I can send you Nick?"

Nick was surprised she was asking him. He was not expecting this in the least. "Um, would you mind sending me some of your blueberries?" His voice was uncharacteristically shy and timid.

"Sure I'll have Stu send a whole crate."

Nick looked at Bonnie with eyes filled with gratitude. "Thanks Bonnie."

"It's the least we can do Nick." Bonnie returned her attention to Judy. "I know it's still a while away, but do you think you can make it home for Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah mom, I think I'll be healed up enough by then to come. Would you mind if I brought Nick too?"

"Sure he's always welcome at the Hopps home."

Nick couldn't believe his ears. He didn't even need to ask. Judy already wanted him at her house for thanksgiving. And Bonnie didn't have a problem with it. How many other perks came with dating a bunny?

Bonnie hugged Judy again. "I gotta go." Judy hugged her back.

"Alright mom. I love you." She kissed her mom on the cheek.

"I love you too, be safe now." She stepped back and gave Nick a look that just read. 'take good care of her.' Nick nodded his head.

After she left the room Nick and Judy were quiet. "So Thanksgiving huh?"

Judy looked up at Nick after he spoke. "Sorry I should have asked you first. You don't have to come if you don't want. My family can be pretty crazy."

"No Carrots, I don't mind. In fact I'd love to tag along." He smiled at her. Not a smirk a real and genuine smile one he only gave her. "Come to think of it you just saved me the trouble of asking you if I could come."

"You already wanted to?" She asked.

"Yeah I thought maybe it would be a good time to spend together."

"Oh Nick that's so sweet."

"Oh no where's the carrots pen? You'd only say something like that if you had _that_ pen."

"No Nick I mean it." she reached forward and grabbed one of his paws in both of her smaller ones. She pulled on it and he scooted closer to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in even closer.

"So do you want to keep playing?" he asked.

"Nah I'm getting pretty tired." She was getting more relaxed by the second.

"Is the little bunny ready for bed?" He cooed. She looked at him tiredly rolled her pretty eyes and nodded. Nick held her a little tighter as he readjusted her pillows so she could lie down. "Alright scooch forward a little, now lay back, there." Judy's eyes were already drooping closed.

Nick stood up and was about to leave but a soft paw caught his tail stopping him. "Don't go." The fox turned to see Judy holding his tail and looking up at him with pleading eyes. "Don't leave me."

The pain killers Judy was on had a tendency to make her a little loopy. They must be affecting her in her tired state more that they normally would. Nick cupped her face gently with his paw.

"It's alright Carrots. I'm not going anywhere." She looked up at him with those big beautiful eyes. "I love you too much to go anywhere." He leaned down and kissed her on the top of the head right between the ears. "Just sleep now Carrots."

After a few minutes she was out. Slowly Nick stood up as not to wake her. "Don't worry Carrots I'll be right back." It was the second Saturday of the month and he needed to talk to a friend over a couple of drinks. "I love you Judy." Almost as if she heard she cooed in her sleep in an adorable way. He bent down and kissed her in between the ears.

* * *

 **Olvido bar**

* * *

Sal stood behind the bar watching Finnick nurse his drink. The muskrat sighed to himself it was the second Saturday of the month and the little fox's friend hadn't showed up. Sal was about to ask what had happened but was interrupted when he noticed Nick walk in through the front. He also noticed that his arm was in a sling and the bulge of bandages under his shirt.

Nick sauntered up to the bar and sat down next to Finnick. "You're late." stated the small fox.

"Sorry Finn I had a little trouble getting out of the hospital." Finnick who had been so focused on his drink and his own thoughts didn't realize what Nick said. Nick paused for a second seeming in thought. "Hey Sal how about you get me and Finn here a drink."

"You know you're going to have to pay for it this time right." The muskrat warned.

"Yeah I know." Sal's glair didn't dissipate in the slightest. "Scouts honor I'll pay this time."

Finally Finnick looked up at Nick "Look Nic-" but what he was going to say got caught in this throat as his eyes landed on Nick. An uncomfortable silence fell between them as Finnick looked Nick over. But thankfully is didn't last too long, it sure felt for a long time though. "What happened?"

"Do you remember the Snowlence brothers?"

"Yeah they were killed by the Silent Hand."

"No Finn, they are the Silent Hand. And they're the ones behind the missing equipment at the observatory." Finnick was completely silent a look of shock on his face.

"But they're locked up." He tried to reason. Nick just shook his head. Finnick looked Nick in the eye then across the bar and then into his drink trying to contemplate. "How?"

"I'm not sure. There is something bigger going on here. Ryan told me it was their job to take the equipment. That someone was letting them out and putting them back before anyone even knew they were gone."

"Why would he tell you that? You'd just turn 'round and bust eim."

Right before Nick could answer Sal came over with their drinks. "So Nick what happened to you? You look rough. Is it a new look for your bunny friend?"

Nick had known Sal for almost as long as he had known Finnick. Sal was always wondering how they were doing. And somehow always had some sort of advice to give about any subject.

Nick looked at Sal and smirked. "How about I get the drink free and then I'll talk about it."

"No way! I've given you enough free alcohol." Before he could continue he heard someone call for a drink. "I'll think about. But this is the last time." He said before he left to serve another drink.

Nick and Finnick were quite. Finnick took a sip of his drink while Nick swirled his around the glass. The clinking of the ice in it was the only sound between them.

"He was going to kill us."

Finnick looked up at Nick in shock. "What?"

"Ryan was going to kill us so no one would know what was going on. He almost succeeded." He spoke in a haunted whisper.

Finnick looked at his friend with concern in his eyes. They may not have been the greatest friends ever but they had been through a lot and did care for each other. "What happened?"

Finnick saw Nick flinch. "I almost lost Judy." Finnick rolled his eyes. This was a common subject between them. Finnick had already told Nick to just mammal up and tell her how he felt several times. He was about to give Nick the whole speech again but was interrupted. "She's in the hospital right now. Every rib in her body is broken. Her back could have serious problems later. And I'm not even sure if she is going to make a full recovery."

Finnick didn't know what to say, so he stayed quiet. They both stayed quiet for a while. The only sound was the chatter of the other patrons around the bar.

The inside of the building itself was very simple. Of course there was a bar that ran most of the length of the wall across from the door. There were also a couple of pool tables and several other tables scattered around the room. It wasn't a very popular place but every one that frequented it did so because it was quiet and relaxing.

Nick sighed as he saw Sal coming back towards him and Finnick. "Uh oh here he comes. Look out Finn." Nick chuckled.

Finnick shook his head and chuckled too. "You know Nick, you crazy."

"I am not."

The rest of their guys night out went well. Nick retold some funny stories of being a cop. Finnick talked about the news on his new little business he wanted to start. And Sal was always there to throw in some comment that would make every one laugh. Eventually Nick said he needed to go. Right before he left Finnick had asked about giving him a ride, which Nick gladly accepted.

Now the old friends quietly sat in front of the hospital. "Thanks for the ride Finn, I appreciate it." Finnick nodded.

Nick opened the door and slid out. "Nick." He paused not sure what to really say. "Are you ever going to tell the rabbit how you feel?" He was genuinely concerned for his friend. Hiding something like that could only cause problems.

Nick smiled a small but real smile. "Don't worry Finn, I already did. Good night." And he slammed the door shut before Finnick had time to say a word.

The little fox watched as Nick walked away. He shook his head. "I tried to tell him. That fox is crazy."

 **AN:**

 **Hey everybody! How are you all enjoying the New Year? I hope it's treating you all good. What did you think on my latest chapter? Did I put enough fluff in it? I'm not very good at it yet.**

 **Here I am sitting at a McDonalds using the free internet. It's my birthday today I'm finally eighteen, yay! This is my gift to you. (That makes total since. XD) Hope you all liked it. Also I'd like to thank everyone for their continued support and interest in this story. Thank you ALL so much! I'd also like extend my thanks to Camoss again for the birthday wishes. He's a way better author than I am so go read his stories they are amazing!**

 **Alright first off Sal belongs to PullTogether. He's my first barrowed OC. It you want to see more of him check out PullTogether's story 'How Many Ways can a Fox and a Rabbit Fall in Love?' Sal is an amazing character in that story. Thank you so so much PullTogether for letting me use Sal for this chapter!**

 **Since I'm mentioning other people's work I feel I need to say this again. This story is a prequel. I was inspired by the amazing author Sophie Ripley's story 'Traditions Among the Stars.' She was kind enough to let me write this. If you wish to read Traditions Among the Stars I only say one thing; spoiler alert. I want you guys to read her story don't get me wrong. I'm just saying that it will ruin the huge reveal later in this story. It's your choice.**

 **How many of you were shocked to find out what Judy did in her free time when she was younger? Does it seem fitting? If it wasn't already obvious already I use to play World of Tanks. And I was really nerding out there when Judy was explaining the game to Nick.**

 **The question of the chapter is: What are my week points? What in my writing seems weakest to you? I really want to get better at this and any tips are like gold to me.**

 **Any way that's all for now. I hope you all are having a good day or night where ever you are. Reviews are always appreciated *wink wink* XD Bye!**


	13. A Bet About What?

**Hello my friends guess what day it is? Well it's Friday and this is chapter 13 so it's automatically very unlucky. I'm just kidding there's lots of fluff in this one. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

 **A bet about what?**

* * *

Judy was in her bed. But something wasn't right. She was comfortable and she was still under her covers, so it couldn't be that. She wasn't in any kind of pain, no it wasn't that either. She was going to roll over and ask Nick when it hit her. Nick wasn't there; he wasn't with her.

Her eyes flew open and she hurriedly looked around. She was still in her hospital room, but Nick wasn't there. Nothing of his was there, not clothes his computer was gone; everything. Where was he? He was there when she went to sleep. What happened to him?

Then another thought occurred to her; was it all a dream? Was Nick really there? Did he survive being shot? For the life of her Judy couldn't remember.

She was starting to panic; her heart rate was going up. She had already been breathing hard, now it was just worse. Almost to the point where she was hyperventilating. She needed to find him, she needed to find Nick!

With groggy and uncoordinated movements she rolled out of her bed. Unfortunately she'd forgotten about her IVs and they were torn out of her arm. She hissed in pain and grabbed and held her arm. When she withdrew her paw she saw that she was bleeding. She didn't care. She needed Nick; she needed to know if he was alright, to know if he was still with her.

Slowly she trudged toward the door to her room. Every step caused her pain, and everything hurt. When she at last reached the door it was all she could manage to do to open it. It was so much heavier then she remembered it being. It felt like it was made of lead and the hinges were years rusted.

When the door opened the light that spilled in to the room was blinding. It was so bight that Judy cried out in pain and turned away. It was physically painful to look out into the light.

After a few seconds Judy collected herself and walked out the door. It was still bright but it wasn't painful to look around anymore. Judy just stood there. The hall she was in wasn't anything like the one she had seen and walked in the days before. It was still a hospital hallway but it looked very familiar. She felt as if she had been there before.

Judy took a tensive step into the hall. As soon as she did a hippo seemed to come out of nowhere. Judy tried to lunge out of the way but the pain she felt made her seize up. She was barely able to fall out of the way. When she hit the ground the shock of pain caused tears coming to her eyes.

"H-hey." Was all she could choke out between sobs. She raised her paw to what she assumed was the nurse. But she wasn't there anymore, as if she had disappeared into thin air.

After a long and pain filled struggle Judy managed to stand again. When she tried to walk she had a bad limp. It hurt; it was so bad she couldn't think of a better way to describe it, it just hurt.

Walking was slow and excruciating but she pressed on, she had to find Nick. After a while she noticed that she was the only one there. There was no one else, no doctors, no nurses, patents, not a soul. She also noticed that the floor had changed from linoleum to stone work and the walls had changed to brick.

She knew where she was but at the same time she didn't. It was so familiar to her and florin at the same time. All she could do was keep limping.

She came to a corner and she could hear voices around it. She recognized one of them but the other she couldn't. Either way one she heard had a wave of fear flowing through her. She felt as if she was being watched, and that whoever was watching her wasn't friendly. She couldn't help think that this must have been what if felt like to be prey in the ancient days. She didn't like the feeling.

When she rounded the corner and saw who was beyond and her blood ran cold. Judy stood frozen to the spot right across from Ryan and Grant Snowlence.

Realization struck her like a hammer. She was in the observatory! She stood as still as stone as they talked.

"You know the deal. In and out less than five minutes. No one sees and we get payed." Ryan said with a cackle.

"You got it boss and I leave first so in case we get caught we still get the prize out." Grant stated in a deep and gravelly voice.

They both were leaned against what Judy guessed was one of the pieces of equipment they were going to steal.

"Right, and if anyone does catch us I'll just take care of them just like old times." Ryan let out what Judy could only describe as an evil laugh.

Judy couldn't take anymore she had to warn someone of what was going to happen. She turned and fled back the way she came.

Suddenly her paw caught something and she came crashing down. For the second time unimaginable pain racked her small body. She couldn't breathe and everything was fading to black.

"Nick, where are you?" She whispered.

* * *

It was dark when Judy regained consciousness. Or at least she thought she was unconscious. Slowly she chanced opening her eyes. What she was met with was unsettling. She was lying at the base of a tree. And true to her guess it was dark. Her nose felt stuffy and when she went to rub it her paw came away with blood on it.

 _What happened?_

She was just in the observatory how did she get here? It looked almost like… She looked around trying to gather her surroundings better. She saw a steep hill with a car sitting at the top, its lights still on and doors still open. She also saw down in the clearing, with her, an over turned white van. Then for the second time she was struck with realization. This was where they confronted Ryan. That meant…

She looked around frantically and at last saw him. Nick was lying in the leaves about thirty yards away.

"Nick." She tried to yell but it came out raspy and weak.

Judy tried to stand but couldn't. Her leg must be dislocated or broken. So she crawled paw over paw to the fox.

The closer she got the more afraid she became. She saw his bloodied shirt and pants. She saw the way he was sprawled out on the ground. And worst of all was what she didn't see; she didn't see the rising and falling of his chest.

Beep down in the pit of her stomach she knew. And just the thought of it alone was making her cry. When she at last reached the fox, her fox, she broke. Nick had been shot at least four times. Maybe more but she couldn't tell for sure.

She laid her head on his chest and cried. She felt as if something had been torn away from her. As if a life she could have lived wasn't possible anymore. It hurt worse than any pain she had ever endured.

She didn't know for how long she was there. It felt like forever and no time at all. But eventually the darkness reclaimed her.

* * *

Judy sat bolt upright in her hospital bed. Her heart was pounding and she was hyperventilating. She looked up at the door to her room, which was open, and froze.

Nick was standing there paw still holding the handle of the door. He had a surprised look on his face. "Carr-"

Judy flung the covers off of her and jumped out of the bed and sprinted to Nick. She didn't care if she hurt herself right now, she needed him more. When she got to the fox she grabbed him around the midsection and didn't dare let go.

Nick was shocked to have this happen. One second he's trying to sneak back into his room and the next Judy suddenly wakes up and clobbers him. That was when he noticed she was shaking uncontrollably.

He tried wrapping his arms around her but she seemed to shrink into herself. "Shhhh It's alright Carrots it's just me." Her shaking got worst and he heard some faint sniffling. He knelt down to be more at her height. "It's alright Judy I'm right here." She shook her head against his chest. "Why's isn't it okay?" He soothed.

"B-because y-you're going t-to leave, d-disappear."

"I'm not going anywhere Carrots."

"Y-y-yes y-you are. You're d-dead!" She shouted into his chest.

Nick realized she must have had a nightmare. "Carrots I'm not dead, see?" he started stroking her velvety ears. "And I'm not ever going to leave you."

Her crying seemed to subside slightly but her shaking didn't. She acted like she was going to freeze to death. "I saw; y-you were g-gone."

"No Carrots I'm still here." He picked her up and carried her to the bed where he sat and she curled up on his lap. "I'm not going anywhere."

"But Ryan k-killed you, I saw you weren't..." Unable to finish her sentence she broke down again as she relived the horrible memory.

"But I'm still here aren't I?" he asked gently.

"You're just a dream. My broken heart is playing tricks on me."

"If I'm just a dream, could I do this?" He nuzzled his head underneath her chin and pulled her close.

"No."

"See then I'm not a dream. I'm really here with you in this super boring hospital room, in the city of Zootopia where we're both the best cops ever. We go out every day and stop bad guys and make the world a better place. I'm not going to go anywhere and neither are you. We're staying together. Alright?"

She sniffed but nodded her head. "I-I l-love you N-Nick." She whispered.

"I love you too Judy. I'll always love you. Now and until the day the world ends. Don't you ever forget it." she softly nodded into his chest.

* * *

When Judy awoke again she remembered everything that happened the night before. The memories washed over her and she started shaking.

"N-Nick?" she asked in a small voice. She heard an intake of breath next to her as Nick woke up.

"Yeah Carrots?" he rolled over and groggily asked. Usually he would never wake up that easily in the morning but he had hardly slept the night before and didn't dare sleep too heavily in case Judy had another nightmare.

Judy let out a sigh of extreme relief and snuggled close to the fox next to her. She didn't say a word; she didn't know what to say right now any way. Nick put an arm around her and started to relax again and drift off to sleep. But Judy didn't, she didn't want to sleep again for the fear she might dream again.

So she stayed awake and watched Nick sleep. He was so relaxed, he seemed completely at peace. It occurred to her that she now knew what he had gone through. She knew what it was like to see him dead, gone forever. It had only been a dream she had been in, what Nick went through was real. She had died, and it was no dream.

She felt horrible; she had really put Nick through what no other person should ever have to go through. She couldn't help feeling guilty. What would have happened if she had died? How would Nick change? Would he have gone back to hustling, or worse? Would he have stayed a cop? Maybe he would have become chief and pledged to make the world a better place in her name and memory. There were so many what ifs. She really didn't know what would have changed had she not survived.

"Judy you're really over thinking things. Just calm down and relax a bit."

Judy was startled by his sudden comment. _Wasn't he asleep?_ He had been so calm and his breathing and heart beat were slow and even. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

He opened his sharp emerald eyes and looked at her. A smile came to his lips. "That's easy Carrots; my bunny friend. Your foot is thumping as fast as those thoughts are buzzing through your head."

"Did I wake you up? I'm so sorry Nick." She curled in on herself trying to hide her shame.

"Don't be that way Carrots, it's too cute for me and I might die of fluff poisoning. I was already awake anyway, so don't worry about it"

"Don't call me cute." She wined in to the covers. Her ears were drooped over her head to help hide her face.

"But I'm your foxy boyfriend why can't I call my sweet bunny cute?" he asked in an innocent voice.

"Quit it Nick you're embarrassing me." He could see her ears darken slightly with a blush.

"I didn't hear a no in that sentence so does that mean-"

"No." she stated adamantly.

"Please my sweet Carrots." He begged in a sad and desperate voice.

"No Nick." She said again. He could tell she was starting to crack. Her ears were clearly a bright red. It was quite a comical sight to see a bunny with red ears.

"Pwitty Pweese with swuger on top?" He spoke in the most pleading and sweet baby voice she had ever heard. To further break her down he started lightly kissing her ears as they shielded her from the outside world. She shivered every single time he kissed her; it was everything she could do not to moan. "I won't stop until you say yes." He whispered to her.

She couldn't take it anymore! First cute, then the complements, and then kisses! It was every weakness she had and Nick was torturing her. For a moment she contemplated not saying anything so he wouldn't stop the kisses, she was really enjoying them. But eventually she decided to give in.

She turned her head and looked Nick in the face. "Fine, you can call me cute, but not in public. Got it?"

He nodded his head. "I wouldn't dream of it sweet heart." He leaned in and kissed her again, this time on the lips. She didn't resist in the slightest and melted into the kiss.

* * *

It was lunch time. Nick and Judy hadn't really done anything all morning. They had just relaxed and talked most of the time. Judy was still shaken from her dream, so Nick decided not to do anything but help comfort his favorite bunny.

Now once again Nick was walking back to his and Judy's room with their lunch in paw. He had been wondering what had brought on her nightmare. He brought it up with Doctor Stone earlier. Clay could only guess that it might have been brought on by the pain killers she was receiving, as they sometimes had some side effects. Another contributing factor might have been that Nick wasn't near her. But neither knew if that was true or not. Nick just hoped that it wouldn't happen again.

Nick's focus was torn back to the present as he almost ran straight into a panther nurse. He spun to the right and narrowly avoided the accident.

The panther turned around to see Nick. "I'm so sorry sir! I wasn't watching where I was going."

If Nick's paws had been free he would have waved the panther off. "Hey, no harm done. I wasn't watching where I was going either, so I'm sorry too."

The panther visibly relaxed. They were both quiet for a second, the panther reached back and scratched behind his ears. "My name's Cody." He said after a second.

Nick shifted the food around so it was balanced on one arm. He was barely able to reach up and shake the paw that Cody was offering to him. "I've seen you around here. It's nice to meet you. I'm Nick, Nick Wilde."

Cody smiled. "So it is true, you're the Nick Wilde. And I'd guess that you're here with Judy Hopps?"

Nick smiled as his thoughts returned to his bunny. "Yep, that's her alright."

"I'd just like to say that you guys make the cutest couple."

The hair on the back of Nick's neck bristled slightly and a shiver coursed down his spine. "How did you know about us?" he asked cautiously.

"Not to be rude but a blind mammal could see that you guys are more than work partners and 'friends'." Cody laughed like he heard a joke.

Nick was dumbfounded. "Are we really that obvious?" he wondered aloud.

Cody just nodded his head before he spoke again. "Actually there's quite the group that has been rooting that you guys would get together at one point or another. Last I heard they were a pretty large community."

Nick just stared at the panther standing in front of him. How were they going to hide their relationship from every one at work? What if they already knew? _Wait, wait, wait! What if that is what that bet Clawhauser was talking about was really about?_ Were their coworkers betting on if they would get together or not?!

Cody watched as a series of expressions crossed Nick's face, from worry to realization to anger. The black cat was about to ask if he was alright but Nick beat him to it.

"You know, I think you just helped me solve a case me and my partner have been working on for a while. Now that this new information has come to light I'll have to talk it over with her. Thanks for the help Cody." He tried to give a two fingered salute but almost dropped the food in his paws. "I'll see you around."

The fox turned and was gone down the hall before Cody could even register what had just happened. He cocked his head. "Case?"

* * *

Judy was sitting on her bed quietly as she thought over the last day, or more precisely the night before. All she could say was that she could now understand how Nick felt. The dream wasn't directly bothering her. Understanding what Nick had gone through and feeling guilty for it was mainly what was bothering her. She just felt guilty. Even though Nick had already told her not to feel guilty, she still did. She just couldn't help it.

Suddenly Nick burst into the room making Judy look up at him in alarm. "Nick, you scared me. What's wrong?"

He looked at her like he'd just realized she was there. "Sorry Carrots. I just found out something kind of surprising."

"Oh really, what is it?" she asked with a smile.

"I'll tell you later." She was about to protest. "I promise Carrots I'll tell you."

She stopped and looked at Nick sincerely. "Alright Nick." She nodded. "So did you bring lunch?"

"Yeah, here you go, enjoy your tortillas." He handed over a container that Judy eagerly took. As soon as she had it the lid was off with a cloud of steam and she was happily munching on a plain flower tortilla. Nick just watched with an amused smirk on his face. Judy sure had some funny eating habits. "Don't forget your milk." Judy rolled her eyes but took the little carton of milk that Nick was holding out to her.

Because of the damage she had sustained to her ribs she was ordered to drink milk to help supplement her calcium intake which would speed her healing up. She didn't usually drink milk. The reason for that is it could make her sick if she had too much. As long as she didn't have too much too fast she would be fine. She did have to admit it did taste pretty good.

"Well Carrots I talked to Doctor Clay about your dream, and he just recommends that you take it easy and relax, especially mentally. Which leads me to ask, are you doing alright Carrots?"

"Mhmm." Judy nodded as she ate another tortilla.

Nick eyed her for a second. "Are you sure, even after everything that has happened?"

Judy swallowed her bite of food. "Yeah Nick I'm sure." she smiled. Nick was really concerned for her, and it went a long way towards making her feel better.

"Alright. I know I'm going to sound sappy and cliché, but you can talk to me about anything Judy. I'll always be by your side to help you." He stood and crossed the room and kissed her on the head. She hummed happily in response.

"Doctor Clay also said something about a therapy pool they have here. He thought it might help you relax if you wanted to give it a try." Nick continued as he returned to his food.

Judy seemed to think about it. "I don't have anything to swim in Nick. You're gonna have to go back to my place and get my swim suit."

"It hasn't even been a week and my girlfriend is already asking me to go through her underwear drawer. Let me; ask are they all carrot themed?" he chuckled at the blank look she was giving him.

"You know Nick if I were you I'd feel pretty happy that my girlfriend trusts you enough to go through her underwear drawer. And my underwear are not Carrot themed, I have a few blueberry ones too!" She stopped; blushing bright red. "That sounded better in my head."

Nick paused for a half second slightly surprised but recovered quickly. "Don't worry Carrots. It didn't sound that awkward. And I'm happy you have that much trust in me. And I might just add that you would look cute in blueberry underwear." he smiled and winked at her which only made her hide her face and blush worse.

After a few minutes Judy's ears went droopy and she broke eye contact and looked down at her lap. Nick noticed that she did this when she was nervous or afraid of something. "I've always trusted you Nick. Ever since that day under that bridge, I've trusted you. I trust you with my life and my heart Nick. I love you." She looked up at him with watery eyes but still smiled.

As she was talking Nick had stood back up and returned to her side of the room. When she looked up at him he bent down and kissed her. He gently grabbed her small body and held her close to himself. She in return put her arms around his neck and pulled him deeper into the kiss.

When they broke apart they smiled at each other. "Still want me to go get your swimsuit?" Nick asked with a goofy smile.

She blushed again. "Fine, I guess."

* * *

Judy was enjoying herself quite nicely. She was in the middle of one of the hospital's therapy pools. These were mainly used for physical therapy and exorcise. But Judy was just floating around on her back in the warm water. It took a surprisingly large amount of the pressure she felt off her ribs. It was one of the first times she felt almost completely pain free since the night at the observatory.

The pool she was in wasn't in any way big; it was only about fifteen by fifteen feet. It also wasn't very beep; she could stand on the bottom and her ears would still stick about half way out of the surface. It also had a small walkway around all but one of the edges of the pool. The room the pool was in wasn't big or fancy either. It had a relatively low ceiling since it was geared more toward medium sized mammals.

Judy currently didn't know what Nick was doing, and was getting bored not having anyone to talk to. "What are you doing Nick?" she asked as she bobbed around. She heard a snort and then the smacking of lips.

"What Carrots?" Nick was laying on the edge of the pool. He had been so tired from the nearly sleepless night before and the room was nice and warm that he had fallen asleep right there on the concrete.

"I asked what you were doing." Judy replied.

"Oh, I was catching up on my beauty sleep." He stated nonchalantly. "Why do you ask?"

Judy didn't answer as she floated there thinking about what he told her. Once again that feeling of guilt started to creep back to the forefront of what she felt. "I'm sorry Nick."

Nick rolled over and looked at Judy. "Why do you say that Carrots? You have nothing to be sorry about."

Judy paddled her way over to the edge by Nick. "Yes I do. I put you through the wringer. What would you have done if I had died the night we confronted Ryan? And then last night I kept you up all night because of some dumb dream!" She slapped the water in frustration.

Nick winced as he was sprinkled with water droplets. "Judy you have nothing to be sorry about. You couldn't have predicted what was going to happen when we went down that hill. What happened is not your fault."

Judy had a dejected look as she stared up at Nick. "I'm the one that made us chase after Ryan in the first place."

"You and I are both cops; that's what we do. Chase after the bad guys."

"But we weren't even on duty. I didn't even have my badge on me."

"Carrots have you heard the saying; A hero's work is never done?"

"I'm no hero Nick. I'm just a dumb bunny."

"Wrong Carrots! Don't you ever say that about yourself again!" he almost shouted it which made Judy jump in fright. She recovered quickly and looked back up at him. His eyes were intense and almost seemed to glow with emotion.

"You are my hero Judy." He whispered. "You saved me from a dead end life. You gave me everything a friend could give. You don't have to do heroic and legendary things to be a hero. You just have to be who you are, and keep making the world a better place."

As he talked Judy started to tear up. She reached up and Nick gladly bent down and scooped her out of the water. She hugged him around his neck tightly and shed a few tears. She was really having an emotional day. She was lucky Nick was around to help her through it.

Nick carried Judy bridal style over to the single chair in the room where her carrot themed towel was sitting. No words were exchanged as he set her down and she started to dry off. She was having a hard time getting her back without hurting it so Nick silently took over. He massaged the towel on her back. Judy relaxed under the pressure and started purring.

"So bunnies can purr?" he asked.

"Well kind of, I'm just grinding my back teeth together. I don't usually do it but this feels sooooooo good." She relaxed further into Nick's touch and kept purring. Nick just smiled and he dried her shoulders.

After a lengthy massage, that Judy didn't want to end, Nick carried her back to the room. When they got back Nick set Judy down and she occupied herself with a shower to wash the chlorine out of her fur. Nick on the other paw just sat down on the edge of the bed. After a second he flopped back and laid down across the bed. Soon he heard the sound of water running as Judy bathed. The ambient noise started to lull him to sleep. He was almost asleep when he heard Judy.

"Nick?" she sounded slightly distressed.

Nick quickly sat up sleep completely forgotten. He rose from the bed and walked over to the bathroom door. It was slightly ajar in case Judy needed to call for help. Nick stood outside listening.

"Yeah Carrots? Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah I I'm alright. But," She paused. Nick could tell she was nervous. "I can't wash my back. Could you maybe…do it for me?" The fox could practically hear the blush on her face as she trailed off.

Nick himself started to blush too. Judy was on the other side of the door naked. And she needed him to help her wash her back, while she was naked. She could always ask a nurse. But she had asked him. Nick knew she needed the help. She trusted him enough to allow him to help her while she was in such an exposed state.

On the other side of the door Judy was worried she had over stepped. Had she gone too far too fast? Was Nick even willing to help her? Was he even still there? Had she scared him off?

"Nick, are you there?" She was scared that he wouldn't be.

"Yeah, sorry Carrots." He rubbed his neck. She needed him again just like when she had first returned to Zootopia and was staying with him in his really bad apartment. Nick had sworn on that night that he would be there for her no matter what. Be it running head strong into a fight they couldn't win, or if she just wanted to cuddle on the couch and talk, he would be by her side every step of the way.

"Alright Carrots I'm coming in." Nick slowly pushed the door open and entered. Once in he closed the door again. He turned and looked at Judy. Her head was poking out from behind the shower curtain. They met eyes and Nick saw her blush.

Nick wasn't as nervous he just didn't want to make Judy uncomfortable. "So um, how do you want to do this? I can close my eyes and wash you from out here." He was trying his hardest to make her feel better.

Judy knew what he was trying to do and was touched by it. _He's such a gentlemammal._ She smiled at him. After a second she took a deep breath.

"How-how bout you just j-join me. It'll be easier that way." She was nervous but she felt this would make them more comfortable around each other and strengthen their relationship.

Nick was surprised. He wouldn't mind showering with Judy; he just wanted to do right by her. Nick smiled as an idea came to him on how to break the tension. "I see what you're trying to do. You just want to get another massage."

Judy sighed in relief; Nick always knew what to say to make her feel better. She held up her paws. "Alright you caught me. But can you blame me?" They smiled at each other the tension evaporating.

Nick started pulling off the white tee shirt he was wearing. When he looked up he saw Judy staring at him. He smirked "Enjoying the show?" He flexed an arm with the remark. It wasn't anything spectacular but it got a reaction from Judy. Nick wasn't largely built, quite the opposite and was still very slim. The only difference from when he was hustling was that his muscles were much more defined now.

Judy blushed at being caught and quickly hid behind the curtains. She turned her back to the curtains and let her ears flop in front of her eyes. _Stupid! Why did you stare?_ She didn't have time to answer her question when she heard Nick pad up behind her over the sound of the water.

"Alright Carrots I'm getting in. Just let me know if this is too uncomfortable and I'll leave."

"Alright." She heard the curtain slide open and the closed again a second later. Nick was right behind her she could feel his presence. To distract them both Judy silently handed Nick one of the little bottles of fur shampoo that the hospital provided. She listened as Nick squeezed some into his paw. Then it was quiet, all she could hear was the water splashing down around them.

Then she heard Nick take a final breath as he steeled his resolve. Then he put his paws on her shoulders as started lathering the soap into her fur. His paws were almost as large as her whole upper back. Judy couldn't help the shutter of pleasure that passed through her.

After a moment Nick tried talking again to relieve the tension. "Do you remember that betting pool about us back at the station?"

The question was out of the blue which had Judy turning her head to give Nick a questioning look over her shoulder. "Yeah, what about it?"

"I think I figured out what it is really about." Nick said. He was steadily moving down her back, trying to be gentle as to not hurt her.

"I thought it was just about how fast we finished our cases. What else could it be about?" she asked in a confused tone.

"Well you know how Clawhauser thinks we're secretly a couple? I think everyone else is betting on when we're going to reveal that we really are a couple. And worse of all I think Clawhauser is in charge of the whole thing."

Judy was quite, she didn't make a noise. Nick couldn't even hear her breathing.

* * *

Out in the hall Cody and Amber were busy talking about the going-ons of the hospital when they heard a shriek/yell from the room they knew their favorite fox and bunny were in.

"WHAT?!"

"Cody what exactly did you tell Nick when you talked to him?" Amber asked.

Even though Amber was a tenth his size Cody shrank away from her and scrambled to explain himself. "Nothing, I just said he and the rabbit made a cute couple. Then he asked if they were really that obvious, and I said yes. Then he acted weird for a second. Then he said I had helped bring to light some information on a case him and his partner had been working on for a while. After that he just left in a hurry saying he needed to discuss it with her."

Amber nodded her head as he explained. "Huh, I wonder what case he was talking about. Apparently their so fast that I've heard rumors there's a betting pool around the ZPD about how fast they can get their cases done."

"Is that so?" Cody asked

* * *

"What? How? Why?" Judy was going through the whole question list all she was missing was 'Where?' 'When?' and 'Who?'

"Why would Ben do that behind our backs?" she asked feeling a little hurt.

"When you look at it from his prospective it's really not that bad. I mean look at us. I know we're newly in a relationship but it seemed to him that we have been in one for a long time now."

Judy turned around and looked up at Nick. "You're right Nick, what do we do?"

"Is there anyone that we might want to win?"

"I don't know that seems a little mean, don't you think?" as she talked she grabbed the bottle of shampoo and started washing Nick's belly and chest. She was immensely enjoying the feeling of his soft fur running through her paws.

"Yeah you're right. When should we say we got together? I'm sure saying it was at the hospital would be too cliché but I guess we could do it."

"I honestly don't think anyone would even have the heart to bet while we are in the hospital. So how about we tell everyone we got together during the date?"

"That's even more cliché but its better."

"Well do you have any better ideas?" Judy found a soft spot and Nick's tail started wagging uncontrollably. "Does the foxy like?" she cooed.

Nick's response was to grab her ear and rub his thumb and fore finger together with the ear in between. Judy gasped and stopped rubbing Nick's stomach. She was horrified and embarrassed to hear her own foot start thumping the shower floor with a loud splat every time it made contact. "Oh I see the bunny has a tickle spot too." He chuckled.

Judy swatted his paws away. "Stop that!" she turned around and started fidgeting with her ears. "Can you finish my back?" Nick shook his head at how cute she looked when she was nervous.

Nick reached over and took the shampoo bottle again. "Alright Carrots, I'll give you another one of my world class massages." She hummed in contentment as he gently started on the middle of her back.

Judy thought about how her day had started with her dream. It was horrible, but she had Nick there to comfort her. Even throughout the rest of the day he had been there to help. He was always ready to be her support when she was falling down. Even right now, in this awkward situation she had put them in; he was there with a smile on his face, a loving twinkle in his eyes, and not a complaint to be heard.

"Thank you Nick; for everything." She whispered.

"For you Carrots; always."

* * *

 **Hey guys! Well what did you think? Better fluff this chapter? I hope so. I'm still getting the hang of it.**

 **Not really mush to say this time. *thinking...***

 **What did you think about Judy's dream and how Nick handled the after math of it?**

 **Oh right! The chapter question. Alright how about this; what do you guys want to happen in the story? Do you have any ideas you'd like to see happen. In case your thinking that I'm out of ideas that's not true, I just want you guys to have a little fun with this like I am. Nick and Judy will be out of the hospital next chapter and they are still going to be hurt, so what do you what to have happen? Should they laze around and play games should they keep studying the case behind Bogo's back? If you have an idea put it in the comments and I'll see what I can do.**

 **Also we're almost to fifty follows, only six to go. If we could make that milestone I'll do something extra special for you guys. Thanks again for all the follows and favorites. If you have a friend that would maybe like to read this please share it, it would mean the absolute world to me. Thanks! :)**


	14. Free at Last!

**AN: I guess tomorrow it the second anniversary of Zootopia. It really doesn't feel that long ago. And so much has changed for me since the first time I saw the movie. in the comments tell me how Zootopia had changed your life. Happy (11 minutes early) anniversary Zootopia! may there be many many more wonderful years to come. I'm looking forward to sharing them with you guys.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

 **Free at Last!**

* * *

 **Chapter quote:**

" **I preach darkness. I don't inspire hope-only shadows. It's up to you to find the light in my words."** **  
** **-** **Charles Lee**

 **Bonus quote:**

 **First they will ask why you're doing it. Then they'll ask how you did it.**

 **-Javed Momin**

* * *

A lone figure sat in a dark office. The office was quite nice, there were two book cases on the far wall and a beautiful hard wood desk sitting in the middle of the room with equally nice wooden chairs in front.

For the life of them the parson didn't know if it was night or day, he'd been there too long to remember. He was on the phone and was listening carefully to the voice on the other side of the line.

"No we're not ready for that." he answered. He sat and listened again. "I'm well aware of what Ryan and Grant have caused and am changing the plan accordingly."

…

He got up and started pacing behind his cluttered desk. "Yes I know Hopps and Wilde could become a problem. It is critical that you keep this under wraps, we are still not ready. I will handle Grant and Ryan; personally." He chuckled.

...

"Yes I mean lie; do whatever it takes. You know as well as the rest of us what we're working for. So don't go soft now after all these years."

…

"Yes I know and I'm sorry. Give me an update in a month, alright? If anything else happens notify me immediately." He paused. "We are the darkness."

Over the phone he heard his contact reply; _"Who will save the world from the light."_

* * *

Clay Stone had always enjoyed being a doctor. He loved the fact that he could save lives. He also loved the rewarding feeling of saving lives, and when his patients and their family thanked him for what he had done. It was a nice perk of the job but it wasn't the reason he had the occupation he did. But he couldn't worry about that right now, he had to go and check on his newest patients; Nick and Judy.

As Clay walked down the busy hallways he loved to think to himself about really anything. This morning the topic was Zootopia's greatest cop partners.

He still was amazed how Judy had pulled through what she did, Nick too. When the chief of police himself brought them in he had feared the worst. Nick had lost so much blood and was growing weaker by the second. And Judy's back could have been so much worse than it was. She should have died the second she hit that tree.

When he had looked at Nick he was told he had been shot. To be honest Clay had never dealt with a gunshot wound before. Guns were so rare in Zootopia and were highly regulated. There was a stockpile of them at each police Precinct and only the most elite had excess to unlock them. And even still they were only for moments of national emergency when there wasn't any other choices available.

When he questioned Nick the fox had said the gun was a revolver and looked to be on the older side. There were only a few places a person could get a gun like that. One: out of the country; through the black market, two for sporting events, and three in Bunnyburrow. The laws were different and everyone owned a gun there, but nobody ever shot anyone else. How else could the fathers there do shotgun weddings?

Clay walked up to room 152 and knocked. It was still pretty early and there was no answer. Clay wasn't surprised. He sighed and opened the door and went in. When he turned around from closing the door he saw why the fox and rabbit didn't answer. There on the oversized bed were Nick and Judy. Judy was curled up in a ball and relaxed into Nick's gentle touch. Nick held her close and rested his chin between her ears, one of which was flopped over his face.

Clay silently laughed to himself "Oh just wait until the WildeHopps shippers hear about this. They're going to flip." He quietly whispered. He had heard from Cody that they were together shortly after Judy had come out of her coma. He was happy for them. It wasn't often that a fox and bunny fell in love.

Clay laid a stack of papers on the table in the room. They were his latest evaluation of Judy's back. She was healing quickly and was going to be able to leave to go home later today. Though he would like her to comeback in every three or four days for a checkup just so he could be sure she was really going to be okay.

Clay took one last look around the room and at all the flowers that had accumulated over the last few weeks. He also noticed that several of them had the buds missing, specifically ones closer to the bed. _She must be eating them._ He chuckled. Quietly as not to wake the cute couple Clay turned and left.

Nick stirred as soon as the door clicked shut. "Is he gone?"

Judy stretched herself out and groaned in satisfaction. "Yeah he's gone."

"Good, what did he say?"

"Something about WildeHopps shippers. Nick what is shipping?" She rolled over so she was facing him and asked.

Nick stretched out and then grabbed Judy again and pulled her back into his chest. "I'll tell you later Fluff let's just go back to sleep." Judy silently nodded to him, before she started to drift off again.

* * *

Ralph Wolford silently drove towards Zootopia Central hospital. The chief had given him the job of chaperoning Nick and Judy home. He couldn't complain; it was the least he could do to help.

He had been among the group that had rushed to help the duo on that fateful night. He'd been the first one on scene and had thought they hadn't made it. He could still remember Nick's voice as he whispered directions over the radio to where they were. He'd silently cried a few tears as he heard the fox's words.

The wolf shook his head to clear it of the troubling thoughts. There was no need to feel that way anymore. Nick and Judy had both pulled through. They were so strong. It still amazed him just how strong they each were, both physically and mentally. They were only one fox and one bunny and yet they did the work of mammals ten and twenty times their size. Anyone could take a lesson from them.

Surrounding the cruiser he was driving was the normal city. He was close to down town but it wasn't super busy for the time of day. Every mammal imaginable walked the sidewalks. The buildings just as tall and magnificent as ever watched over all that was below them. It was just like a normal patrol.

As Ralph continued to drive he noticed the hush that seemed to hang over the city. Like an invisible rain cloud was dampening the mood.

It was no huge secret that Zootopia's heroes were in the hospital but no one knew why. Naturally there was always going to be reporters asking questions. But there weren't that many really doing so. They seemed to sense that there was some _thing_ going on, the whole city did. It felt weird. It was almost too quiet feeling but just as loud as ever.

Wolford knew there was something else going on other than the thefts of telescope equipment. Something much bigger then he originally thought. Instead of just him and Fangmyer, mostly him, working on the case like they had been almost half the department was now in on it. So far they had nothing.

Not a single lead, there was nothing: zilch. No evidence of break in and tampering, the locks were even relocked to make it seem as if no one had been there. The only thing they had found was a dent in the metal door in one of the smaller domes that led outside. And after closer inspection they realized Judy had caused it trying to burst through the door as she chased after Ryan.

And then there was the fact that Grant and Ryan Snowlence, the legendary Silent Hand brothers had been the ones behind the stolen equipment. And somehow all along had managed to remain in Zootopia maximum security prison. Who let them out? Did someone even let them out or have they managed to perfect a way to escape _and_ get back in without anyone knowing. What happened to the equipment? From his sources it hadn't been spotted in the black market. How did it just disappear without a trace? These were some of the questions that were being asked at the ZPD on a daily basis.

Yeah Wolford knew there was something BIG was going on. Somewhere there was a puppet master pulling all the strings. All Wolford needed to do was find out who. Easier said than done though.

He perished the thoughts as he approached the hospital and saw none other than the dynamic duo of Zootopia themselves. They were sitting on the front steps waiting for him like he'd asked them to when he called earlier. Judy was dressed in a pair of black leggings and a gray tee shirt. Nick on the other paw was dressed like he normally did; in an ugly untucked orange Pawaiian shirt and khakis. Judy also wore a black back brace around her like a huge belt. And Nick had his arm resting in a sling.

It had been a while and Nick was healing nicely and was able to do most things with his arm again. But that didn't stop the hospital from giving him the sling, it was protocol after all.

Judy was relaxed and leaning up against Nick like he was a chair. Nick was busy messing around on his phone while at the same time had an arm, and a tail, wrapped around Judy. It was rather chilly for a late August morning so he was trying to keep her warm with his fuzzy tail. Not to mention they both loved the contact.

Wolford stared so long at the two that he almost missed his turn into the parking lot they were sitting in front of. He had to swing the cruiser so hard its tires screeched and left skid marks on the road. "Oh I hope they didn't see that." Wolford prayed.

Nick and Judy sat up and looked at the cruiser that had made such a loud and startling sound. "So Carrots you think word is already out that we're a thing now?"

Judy sighed "From Wolford's uncharacteristically bad driving just now. I'd have to say most likely."

"Yeah I was thinking the same thing." Nick grumbled. After a literal second he went back to his phone. As he did he gave Judy a reassuring squeeze. Almost instantly Judy relaxed again.

"Thanks Nick." The bunny murmured.

Eventually the cruiser pulled up and out hopped Wolford. "Hey there's my two favorite cops. How have you guys been doing?" he called happily as he walked around to them "I know you've been trapped in a makeshift prison for the past month, but other than that how's it been?"

The fox and rabbit started to stand. "Well we're still alive so we're doing pretty great. Aren't we Carrots?" he pulled her to his side and rubbed her shoulder affectionately.

"Yeah we're doing pretty well." She happily but gently hit Nick's sore arm.

Wolford stared at the two dumbfounded. Even after all his watching to see if they were in any kind of relationship he'd never seen them act like this. Something had to have happened. "So… you guys seem to be rather affectionate today." He mentally smacked himself for sounding so awkward. _Good one Ralph. Now you've gone and goofed. What would Fangmyer do? Probably smack me on the side of the head into whatever object was nearby. Yep she would totally do that._

Since Nick had his arm around Judy paw on her shoulder and she had hers around his midsection they were able to sign each other.

N: _How does he know?_

J: _I don't know! Maybe us trying to hide it is making it more obvious?_

N: _Yeah maybe._

J: _What should we do?_

N: _Just act normal it's all we can do without attracting more attention to ourselves._

J: _Alright._

N: _Hey Carrots?_

J: _What?_

N: _I love you._

Judy couldn't help the smile that came to her face and the laugh that accidentally escaped her lips. She didn't have time to really think as she saw Wolford staring at her like she had two heads. "Quit tickling me Nick!" She swatted at him and even managed to pull off a blush to sell the act.

J: _I love you too, you dumb fox._ She still wasn't used to the feeling the surged through her when he said or in this case signed that to her. She hoped she never got used to it.

After another minute for small talk Wolford told them to get in. Nick turned around to grab their bag while Wolford and Judy approached the cruiser. Nick opened the passenger door and threw the bag to Wolford who caught it and put it into the back seat. Then the fox helped lift Judy up into the seat so she wouldn't get hurt climbing up herself. At last Nick himself hopped up and closed the door.

After a second he realized what he'd just done. He was sitting in the front passenger seat right next to Judy. He was supposed to be in the back and was about to climb back there when Judy reached up and buckled them both in before he could move an inch.

Wolford had watched the whole thing happen right before his eyes. "Um, what are you guys doing?" He knew it was legal to have more than one small mammal in a single seat as long as the seat belt held them both in place, but this. He wasn't expecting _this_.

Judy looked up at Wolford and gave him the most innocent and at the same time the most devious smile he'd ever seen. "Oh nothing Ralph. I'm just buckling us up so we don't break any laws." She winked up at him and returned her attention back to Nick.

Wolford stared almost open mouthed at the two. If they weren't together there had to be… something going on! Maybe it was a joke on him. Or maybe? His pupils shrank to pin pricks, maybe they finally found out about the bet going on at the precinct.

 _Alright Wolford just use your undercover skills here and you'll be just fine._ He often times found himself giving pep talks to himself to help keep calm in a bad situation. Right now didn't feel much different from when he was undercover. He didn't like it, oh no; not one bit.

To help distract himself Wolford shifted the big vehicle into gear and started driving the dangerous duo back home. "Where are you headed again?" he honestly didn't know where they were going and needed to find out soon or else he might make a wrong turn.

"Take us to 155 east fifth street. Faded white building black trim." Nick spoke up. The building he was talking about was moderately new being built in the last twenty years. It had once been a bright white but as it grew older faded to a cream color then to a light brown. But it was home so he didn't complain.

The drive was quiet and uneventful. Nick watched the city roll by in a blur while he was immersed in deep thought. Judy had her head rested against his shoulder as she dozed off. Her new pain killers could make her drowsy. Wolford was on auto pilot as he thought over just how much this case had changed them all. Especially the two tiny mammals sitting in the seat next to his. He was also worried about how else it would continue change them all, and whether it would be for better or for worse.

Roughly ten minutes later the police cruiser pulled up to Nick's apartment building. Wolford let out a sigh as he relaxed away from the wheel no longer having to pay close attention to the road. "Is there anything else I can do for you guys?" he looked over at Nick who was still staring out the window.

"Nah, I think we'll get by." Nick answered.

"Alright if you need anything don't hesitate to call anyone down at the station. We're all more than happy to help, even Bogo." They both chuckled for a second.

Nick looked over at Wolford and smiled gratefully. "Thanks buddy, it really means a lot."

Wolford took on a serious tone. "Any time Nick. We're here for you and Judy just give us a call. You know the number and Clawhauser and the other dispatch officers would love to talk to you two again." He winked with a smile.

"Thank you." Nick unbuckled himself and the gray bunny sleeping next to him. He carefully shifted her into his lap and slid out the door. She was so out of it that she barely stirred in his arms.

While Nick was busy getting himself and the rabbit situated Wolford grabbed their bag out of the back and got out. Nick had already started carrying Judy into the building before he remembered the bag. When he looked back he saw that his friend was already thinking ahead of him.

His friend; Ralph Wolford; his best friend. For a fox that hadn't trusted anyone for more than twenty years having friends, real friends he could always trust and rely on was a new feeling for him. He liked it. He had friends, a great job, and to top it all off; the greatest partner, both at work and now in life, on the whole dang planet. Even now almost two years later he still couldn't believe how lucky he was.

He looked down at the cute bundle of tough fluffiness in his arms and couldn't help the goofy smile the spread across his face. She seemed to since what he was thinking and nuzzled into his shirt and cooed happily.

The trio walked up into the front lobby of Nick's apartment building. They wordlessly walked across the polished wooden floor to the shiny steel doors of the elevator. Wolford pushed the call button and they waited.

With a ding the doors opened and they walked in. "Fourth floor." Nick said, Wolford nodded and pressed the button. Their stomachs flipped as the elevator's motors overcame gravity and they started moving up. The feeling always reminded Nick of when he was little and rode in elevators. He'd always wonder if that was what it felt like to go into space. He sighed that was a long time ago, before he realized how the world really worked, and how it saw him.

He looked down at Judy who was still asleep in his arms. He sighed again, this time happily. Things were different now. He was a cop, people respected him and looked up to him for guidance. Sure there was always going to be prejudice mammals out there. But their opinions didn't matter to him, only Judy's his mom's and his friends' did. He found himself staring at Judy as she slept peacefully. Her face was totally relaxed except for a tiny smile that played across it. She was what mattered to him now anyone else could go scream at a brick wall for all he cared.

Nick was torn from his thoughts as he realized Wolford was saying something to him. He looked up at the gray wolf. "Say what buddy? I kind of zoned out there for a second."

Wolford took a breath ready to ask the question everyone wanted to know the answer to, but didn't have the guts to ask. "You really love her don't you?"

The first thought that crossed Nick's mind was: _Oops, shouldn't have been staring at her like that._ Then he sighed. "Yeah I do." He confessed. Instead of feeling the embarrassment that he thought would he felt a since of relief instead. He finally admitted it to someone else, got it off his chest. It was a good feeling.

"Why don't you tell her then?" It was an innocent question, one born of pure curiosity.

Nick smiled a sly smile up at his friend. "Who said I haven't?" he finished with a wink.

Wolford just stood slack jawed and stared. "When? What did she say? Are you two together?!" Wolford was having a _very_ hard time controlling himself and not jumping up and down out of joy for his friends.

"Well it may have happened during a certain date we went on, let me tell you it was _out of this world._ " He winked again. "And I'm not the one that started it, she did. And yes we are together now."

The elevator doors opened with another ding and Nick walked out with a flick of his tail and a smile. Wolford just stood being left in the dust as Nick rounded a corner up ahead. When the wolf did lose sight of Nick he shook himself from his stupor and gave chase.

When Nick saw Wolford again his eyes were as big as dinner plates. If they could get any bigger they might have fallen out of his head. Then a huge goofy smile spread across his muzzle. "That's great! I'm really happy for you two. Didn't I tell you? You two make a cute couple."

"Yep, I should have listened to you." Nick stated happily. He was thrilled that his friend didn't think any less of him because of who he loved. When Nick reached his door, apartment 238, he fiddled with his keys to get it open. After the relatively challenging task was complete he opened the door and ushered Wolford in side. "You can set that bag where ever. Thanks again for all the help."

"No problem Nick. I'd better get going. The chief wanted me back after I was done helping you guys out. He said it was something important about the case. Congratulations on you two getting together." He set the bag down, waved, then gave a thumb up and left the room.

"Thanks Ralph." Nick called as the door clicked shut. He stood still thinking about what his friend had said. Then he looked down at the bunny in his arms. She was so light, so frail and small feeling. But she had a hidden strength too. Not only physically but mentally. She had stayed so strong through everything that had happened over the last month, and Nick could only admire her for it.

He smiled at her. "Come on Carrots let's get you to bed." He started for his bed room. It was good to be home.

* * *

Wolford took the stairs back down to the ground level of the building. The elevator was nice and all but he needed speed right now and that elevator was just too slow. He rushed out of the stair well and across the lobby. Out the front door, across the sidewalk and around the front of the cruiser. The driver's side door flew open so fast that it rebounded off its hinges and would have hit him if he hadn't have already clambered up into the seat and out of its way.

He considered using the lights and siren for this but quickly changed his mind. He turned the ignition and carefully but quickly backed out of his parking spot and into traffic. He needed to share the news. There was a betting pool to settle.

* * *

Clawhauser was sitting behind the front receptionist desk at Precinct One of the Zootopia police department, like normal. He loved his job. He loved being able to help and interact with mammals. He'd seen nearly everything a front desk receptionist could. Though he had been surprised a lot recently. First by a giant doughnut literally flying in the front doors with a weasel stuck in it. Then less than two days later he was surprised to see a fox and a bunny leading in none other than Mayor Lionheart in paw cuffs.

That was only the beginning, there were other instances as well. Some were funny like that time Judy drug Nick in by his tail. Others more awkward like when Nick came in without his uniform shirt on carrying a ball of wet cloth and Judy came in wearing his missing shirt. It was obvious that was the only thing she had been wearing by her bare legs and cherry red blush that covered her face.

From the moment he'd seen them walk in holding paws, leading in a lion one hundred times bigger than the both of them combined. He knew it was only a matter of time. He's seen them laugh together, cry and comfort each other, and even scream and yell in each other's faces in fury. Benjamin Clawhauser knew that there was more between those two than met the eye.

This was becoming a common subject for him to think about, almost as common as him going on about Gazelle. It had been about a week since he'd last seen them at the hospital. And it was starting to affect him. It was affecting the whole station. It just seemed duller without the color they brought to the job. Even Bogo seemed to be in a worse mood more than normal. They made everyone's job a little more fun, gave it life, something that had been missing from it for most of the officers for a long time.

Nick's constant pranks always kept everyone on their toes and plotting revenge against him in some way. While Judy always, ALWAYS encouraged everyone to try to make the world a better place, even if it was just by making someone else smile for a second.

Clawhauser was jarred from his nut covered maple doughnut when Wolford burst in through the front doors.

He waved his arms around and even jumped up and down a couple of times as he ran up to the cheetah receptionist. "Clawhauser, Clawhauser! I have the news of the year!" He nearly yelled.

"Is Gazelle doing another concert?" Ben asked excitedly, starting to bounce up and down in his chair.

"No." Wolford waved his arms as he answered. Clawhauser visibly deflated. "It's better!"

Clawhauser looked up at the timber wolf as he barreled into the desk. He made an 'ouff' sound and fell to the ground. Before Clawhauser could ask if he was okay Wolford was standing again "I'm fine, I've never been better!" His tail was wagging so fast that it was acting like a fan and was making their fur move.

"What is it Ralph?! Tell me!" Clawhauser asked in desperation.

"Hopps and Wilde are together!" He shouted quietly. And he started jumping up and down. "Nick just told me as I dropped him and Judy off at his apartment."

"Really?!" Clawhauser reached under the desk and ripped out a gray note book. The cover had a very poorly drawn fox and bunny on it. The only way anyone could ever tell that the lines were a fox and bunny was by the shape of the ears. "Do you know when?" Ben started hurriedly flipping through the pages.

"Not really he said it was while they were on a date." Wolford explained.

"Well the chief said they were on a date the night they almost caught Ryan Snowlence." Clawhauser said.

"That makes since. That makes so much since! That sly fox! He said the date was out of this world, and they were at a star viewing! Of course it was out of this world!"

"That was Saturday almost two months ago." Clawhauser said as he tried to flip to the right page. Then it dawned on him that it had been almost two and a half months since the tiny partners had been on duty. _It really has been that long?_

Clawhauser read through the notes he'd made and his pupils became pin pricks. He clumsily reached over and picked up the dispatch radio.

* * *

Bogo was, as usual, up in his office going over paper work. There was a lot more paper work when he was chief than when he had been a normal officer. Not to mention the amount of responsibility it took to do his job. But he was getting by.

If it hadn't have been for the case that Hopps and Wilde had been on it would have been a very slow month. But it was never slow; he had every available officer working on tracking down Ryan and Grant Snowlence. They were getting nowhere fast so far. No lucky breaks, no clues; nothing. And it was driving Chief Abrams Bogo up the wall.

This was the exact same way he'd felt when he was the one trying to track them down before he was even a Captain. He sighed. Things seemed so much simpler back then. No evil ewe mayors trying to make predators go savage. No crazy fox and bunny cops. And definitely no crazy bets about the crazy fox and bunny cops. Yep those were the simple days.

He wondered when Hopps and Wilde would pull their heads out of their tails and just get together. It would end so many problems, starting with that blasted betting pool. He'd found out about that not even a week after it had started. But he let it slide. It was a good boost to the station morale which was always a good thing. Unhappy cops didn't do their jobs, and Bogo didn't need to deal with that. Though he was afraid he was going to have to if moods kept plummeting like they had been since Hopps and Wilde had been hospitalized. He might have to get them together for a pep talk; to keep trying for Hopps and Wilde's sake.

His thoughts were stopped by the radio on his desk coming to life. **"Attention all officers!"** Clawhauser's voice came through the speaker. **"We have a code purple and green! I repeat; we have a code purple and green! WildeHopps is now a thing!"**

There was a silence all noise seemed to cease throughout the station. Until…

" **Well we're all thinking the same thing; who won?"** asked Delgato.

" **Yeah who is it Clawhauser?"** Asked McHorn.

The radio exploded with questions and comments each louder than the last.

" **Guys guys! Please! How am I supposed to tell you if you can't hear?"** Clawhauser yelled. Everyone quieted down after a second. **"Alright the betting pot. Goes to… Wolford!"** A series of grumbled replies were heard until Bogo heard something else.

"Woooooooooooooooooooooo! I won! I can't believe I actually won. Wooooooooooooooooo!" The wolf howled gleefully down stairs.

Chief Bogo listened in horror as the other wolves in the station started to howl too. He even heard some outside his window start up as well. This was going to be a city wide thing. He listened and more and more wolves, coyotes, and various other members of the canine family started to howl.

Bogo picked up his radio and mashed the button on the side. **"SHUT YOUR TRAP WOLFORD! AND THE REST OF YOU TOO! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER HOWL IN THIS STATION EVER AGAIN! AM I ABSOLUTELY CLEAR?!"** Instantly the howling in the building stopped and an eerie quiet settled over everything.

" **Yes Sir!"** Several voices shouted over the radio at the same time.

"Good." Bogo said to himself. Then he chuckled. Eventually his chuckle turned into a full blown laugh. "It's about time they got together, bout time indeed."

* * *

Nick was lying on his bed next to Judy as she slept. He was scrolling through his social media stuff trying to catch up on what he had missed while in the hospital. He was looking at Clawhauser's furbook page when he saw a brand new post from 'Gazellelover' reading:

' _Hey all you WildeHopps shippers! I've got news for you! Just today I've gotten conformation that Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps are in a relationship! Isn't it great?!'_

Nick stared in dumfounded shock at what he had just read. And then at the thousands and thousands of comments that were under the post. He scrolled through some of them and found that they were mostly positive. He was curious and scrolled up back to Clawhauser's post. Upon closer inspection he found it hadn't even been five minutes since Clawhauser had posted. _How in the world had his post gotten over five thousand comments in less than five minutes?!_

"Alright, that's enough of that." Nick shut off his phone and tossed it across the room so it wasn't anywhere near him or Judy. "Come here Carrots. It's cuddle time." He laid down behind her and pulled her into his chest where she instantly curled into a ball and nuzzled into his fur. "We'll handle this storm later." He kissed her between the ears.

Right then, right now the outside world didn't matter to either of them. They were in their own little world. One where they didn't need to worry about what others thought about them and their relationship. One where they didn't need to worry about cases that were more than just simple cases. And where they didn't need to worry about anything but each other. One where they could always stand together.

* * *

 **Hey guys, Assassin here. What did you think of this new chapter of ours? Is Judy going to have a very large cheetah rug soon? What did you think of the scene at the beginning? Got any suggestions to help me improve? What is going to happen next? I can tell you one thing you may need a hazmat suit for the huge amounts of fluff, depending on how good of a job I can do on it.**

 **I'm really sorry for the long wait. It's just been total chaos here for me. About three weeks ago I had the timing chain go out on my truck so it was broke down for the whole week. That left me walking everywhere in the Sub-Zero weather. That was hard. Now last week I had my heat go out for two days so the inside of my house was about twenty degrees. And this week the choke on my truck is giving me trouble. On top of that there's work and school and I'm doing online classes too. And to top all of that off its midterm's season, I actually finished those last night (I'm so tired). But I tried my best and still got this done. If there's any spellin or grammar mistakes please tell me, I will fix them.**

 **As you may have noticed I have been mentioning guns a lot in the last few chapters. I just wanted to clarify that the sizes and calibers are the same as they are in real life. Like the gun Nick was shot with was a 357 magnum. I know what you were thinking; 'that would have blown him apart'. The bullets Ryan was using were full metal jacket. So they punched a hole straight through him and didn't cause a bigger more lethal wound like a what a hollow point would have. Also when I mentioned guns were more legal in Bunnyburrow that is only to an extent. Most of the guns there don't work or don't have ammo made for them anymore and are now wall hangers and for looks. But like I said that doesn't stop shotgun weddings. XD**

 **Also a huge thank you goes out to the guest reviewer on the 2/22/18. Thanks for all the nice comments. They were a little hard to read but I still enjoyed them.**

 **Another huge thanks goes out to everyone that had faved, followed and so on and so forth. You all are awesome! I'd hug you if I could. Give me your address and I'll show up at your door to give you a hug and shake your hand. Alright guys thank you so much for sticking with me through this. It means the world to me. :)**

 **last thing Wolford's first name comes from either Foxinthehenhouse or Zanrok maybe both. I didn't come up with it. Go read all their amazing stories they're way better at this than I am. XD**


	15. Grocery Hunting Mayhem

**AN: Hey guys! Guess who's got a chapter done! This guy! Yeah. I'm sorry about the delay. I was attacked not once, not twice but three times by real life. It was a merciless onslaught but I think I was able to pull through. *looks at hand with missing fingers.* But seriously I haven't had internet for the past three months. As soon as I was able to get it other stuff got crazy. I can't win for losing.**

 **Real quick I gotta song suggestion for a little part in this chapter. I was actually listening to it and it formed the whole scene it's in. If you'd like; look up on YouTube 'Subnautica Soundtrack- Abandon ship [Extended mix]'. Play it whenever I mention the "** **particular" song.**

 **Alright three and some change months late but better than never let's get this show on the road!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

 **Grocery Hunting Mayhem**

 **Chapter quote:**

 **I just woke up one day and decided I didn't want to feel like this anymore, or ever again - so I changed. I had lots of excuses for not being able to change, but at the end of the day, they were excuses. Being able to change starts with your decision to change.**

 **-unknown**

 **Bonus quote!**

 **I want to wake up at 2 am, roll over, see your face and know I'm right where I'm supposed to be.**

 **-unknown**

* * *

It was warm. Nick was warm and comfortable under his bed's sheets and blankets. The fox didn't know what time it was, nor did he care. He just knew he didn't want his sleeping to end. He was in that wonderfully awful stage of sleep between dreams and reality. Subconsciously he rolled over to his other side and was returning to the great land of dreams when he heard a buzzing sound, much like that of a fly, and felt a tickle in his ear.

Nick flicked his ear to try and rid it of the ghastly nuisance; much to his success. The buzzing stopped and the tickle quit…

For all of ten seconds. Out of frustration he sloppily swiped his paw at the disturbance. This time around the buzzing stopped but a tiny giggle replaced it. It too was quickly muffled.

Now completely awake Nick knew what was going on. So he stayed still and waited. The next time he heard the buzzing he reached out in a flash and grabbed the soft paw by his head. This caused a squeal to come from his assaulter. Nick pulled fast but at the same time gently on the paw until the person was dragged down to his level where he rolled himself on top of them and pinned their arms above their head.

When Nick at long last opened his eyes they met a pair of violet ones that stared up at him intensely. Silently he lowered his muzzle down next to Judy's ear. Her expression grew more nervous the closer he got. When his mouth was right next to her ear he spoke.

"Good morning Carrots. You do know it's rude to wake other mammals right?" as he whispered he could feel the rabbit shudder underneath him. Even though he couldn't see it Nick knew she was smiling.

Judy leaned her own head up to where her mouth was right next to his ear. "Well, Nick..." she breathed causing Nick's fur to puff out as goose bumps rushed across his body. "I got bored and you have nothing to do in your house. So I thought maybe we could go grocery shopping. Because you're out of granola again and I'm hungry." She relaxed back on to the bed and looked up at Nick with a confident smirk.

Still slightly poofy Nick stared down at the rabbit. There was a moment of silence as he thought. "Well… I don't see why not. But I get to shower first. Then I'll make us something to eat. But first I think you need to know what it's like to be tickled against your will."

Instead of smiling or trying to escape like he thought she would have, a look of pain crossed Judy's face. "Could you get off Nick you're starting to hurt my back and chest."

Nick practically flew off her, and the bed for that matter. "I'm sorry Judy! Did I hurt you?" Nick rushed over to the closet and pulled on a light blue button-up shirt and a gray pair of sweatpants' kind of an odd combo. "Do you need to go back to the hospital?" he asked.

Judy sat up and stretched her back producing an audible wet crackling popping grinding sound. "No Nick it's not that bad. I do think I might need another one of my painkillers."

"You haven't taken one yet?"

Nick turned; getting finished with buttoning up his shirt. Judy's eyes were drawn to the steadily shrinking patch of cream colored fur on his chest. Catching herself staring she looked down at her paws resting in her lap. "No, I don't like how I get loopy when they're in my system."

Doctor Stone had prescribed Judy codeine to help with her pain. And two of its worst side effects were drowsiness and 'loopiness' as Judy put it. It wasn't an official side effect; the drug affected everyone differently. Judy often said it was like being drunk or really buzzed.

"I know you don't like it Carrots. But I don't want to see you in pain. Just take one instead of two."

Judy rolled her eyes and got off the bed. "Fine."

The pair would be out of the hospital for four weeks in three days. Both were still in the process of healing up. It had been interesting; staying together and being around each other around the clock. Almost all of their around the house habits were completely opposite. Judy liked to get up early and Nick didn't. She liked to take longer showers and Nick was in and out in five minutes or less. Nick was a good cook and made most of the meals, most of it being really simple anyway. Not that Judy was bad in the kitchen. She could make simple things just not five-star meals.

Over the hours and days they sat and didn't really do much, or they'd talk and tease like normal. The TV was regularly used. Nick had an old gaming system with a few old games in a box in his closet alcove. Most of them were more puzzle games with a lot of thinking involved to finish them. Judy did find them fun; just not like Nick did, it didn't help that he'd already finished most of them. That wasn't all that Nick had in his small collection. He had Super Bash Mammals and the Jak series which were some of Judy's favorites when she was little. He had the whole collection, which had three games Judy didn't even know existed. Since it was only one player they had been taking turns working on it based on whenever they'd die in the game.

Another frequently visited topic was what they were going to do about revealing how they felt for each other. They'd talked and talked about it. Debated on whether they should try and keep it as secret as possible especially from the public. Which was ultimately going to fail, it already was actually. Since Clawhauser had posted about it on Furbook new articles had started popping up across the web about the rumored subject. Luckily it hadn't gone viral or hit the news, yet.

The only other option they had was to put the rumors to rest and tell the truth. But was it worth the risk? It would for sure put a huge target on their backs. Them being on the public face of the ZPD didn't help in this case. They had notoriety and that meant everyone knew who they were. Not a good combo when they had targets on their backs.

They also wondered what their parents would think. Judy already knew her mom was fine with it, but her dad was another story completely. Judy wondered what Nick's mother would think. She'd met Marian shortly after Nick graduated. She was a wonderful mammal and Judy loved being around her. She already treated her and Nick like they were a couple. So maybe she didn't mind? They'd sure find out.

Nick walked through the short hallway and tossed his previous day's clothes in the washing machine that was off to the side. Once out in the main room, he retrieved Judy's medicine bottle from the top of the fridge and waited for Judy to catch up. Not long after she appeared out of the hall still in her green apple carrot themed pajamas.

Nick handed her a single pill. "Alright don't do anything crazy like sneak out for coffee or something, again."

"Yeah laugh all you want Slick Nick. It is not my fault you don't have a coffee maker. I mean you practically live off that stuff how can you not have a coffee maker?"

A few weeks ago after Judy had taken her morning dose of painkiller, this time two pills because she was hurting a lot more. She had decided in her buzzed state that she wanted some coffee and had tried to sneak out the window so Nick wouldn't know where she'd gone.

Nick had been in the shower when he'd gotten a call from a friend at the Snarlbuks down the street asking him to come and pick up the drunken rabbit and pay for the coffee she'd drunk.

Nick had shown up soaking wet and only in a pair of sweatpants that Judy adamantly claimed over and over he had on backwards. First, she'd giggled at him and made a few jokes, and then she complained as he carried her back to the house over his shoulder.

"To answer your question Miss Fluff, I don't have a coffee maker because it makes it so I can have coffee with you every morning." Nick turned and started heading for the bathroom at the edge of the kitchen.

"What about on our off days? We weren't always together." Judy argued playfully.

"I don't know how you forget but it was quite the contrary. We would, and still do spend as much time together as possible." He snorted a laugh. "And we wondered why everyone thought we were already a couple." He laughed.

Judy started giggling along. "Yeah, how could we have not seen it?"

"Your answer is as good as mine Carrots." The sound of his voice was interrupted by the door to the bathroom closing; separating them.

Judy stared at the door for a moment before meandering to the living room, which was right on the other side of the kitchen counter. She sat down and didn't know what to do. Maybe she could try to beat that really hard to figure out puzzle in one of Nick's games. "No probably shouldn't. I got pretty angry last time."

So she just sat and listened to the shower running and to Nick who was humming some tune she didn't know. Right as she was about to nod off her phone rang jarring her back to full wakefulness. Upon retrieving the device from the counter and unplugging it Judy saw it was her mom.

Hitting the green answer button Judy smiled. "Hey, Mom!"

"Hi, Bun-bun. How are you?" Bonnie asked happily.

"Oh, I'm doing fine. I'm just," A yawn interrupted her. "tired."

"You sure you're doing alright? How has your back been?" Judy rolled her eyes at her mother's cliché concern.

"Yes mom, I'm just fine. Nick has been taking good care of me."

"How is Nick dear? You're not giving him too much trouble, are you? I know how you get on codeine." She teased.

"Can we please drop the wisdom teeth thing? I already said I was sorry like a million times."

"Try telling Danny and his friends that. You know Tucker and Jazz still tease him about how his little sister 'arrested' him."

Judy facepalmed and groaned. "Alright we've had this same conversation too many times; time for a new one! What's happening there, anything interesting? How's Dad doing?"

"Alright Bun Bun I'll drop it this time." Her mother laughed. After a second of thought, Bonnie spoke again. "Well it's almost September and everyone here is gearing up for the harvest. Your father has been working on the yellow combine getting it ready for the south bean fields. It's been giving him some troubles. So he's been working on it in advance so nothing is unharvested come the first heavy snows."

When Judy was still working for her family she had always loved driving the heavy equipment. Whether it was a combine a swather or a multipurpose tractor with one of its many different attachments. She loved the change on the land she could see once she had passed. And it was the closest thing she could imagine driving a tank would be like. It was one of the few jobs she actually liked to do on the farm. All the rest of them were just that; jobs.

"We're also planning on doing our final cutting of hay right around Thanksgiving. It's been a wet year so we've gotten four cuttings!"

"Wow, really Mom?" On a good year the Hopps usually only got two cuttings.

Bonnie hesitated for a second. "Are you and Nick still coming down here for Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah, mom we're still planning on coming down. Ooh, maybe I could teach him how to run one of the tractors! This is going to be great!"

"Don't go getting too excited, you don't want to scare him away."

"Oh, rubbish and poppycock! That fox is too stubborn to run." Judy laughed and Bonnie joined. After a moment and they were settled down Judy broke the short silence. "So… have you told Dad about me… and Nick?"

"Well, I have been asking him questions that make him think about what you'd want. Like what would he think if you got a boyfriend? I asked him that last night. That's actually why I called. He was elated! He started asking who he is; and when you are going to bring him home, the whole nine yards!"

"Well did you tell him?" Judy asked anxiously. Her heart started hammering in her chest and seconds seemed to triple in length.

"No, I didn't. That's something you're going to have to take up with him dear. I did tell him you were serious about this relationship and that he made you happy. But that's all; the rest is up to you."

"Ugh, Mom why can't you just clue him in?"

"It's not my place; it's yours. And that's all on the matter. Now, what have you been doing over the last couple weeks?" Of course Bonnie changed the subject. Judy decided to leave it in favor of getting scolded for being a coward.

"Well not much just sitting around, sleeping and playing a few games with Nick. He's really hard to beat at chess. I still haven't been able to do it. We're getting low on food I can eat so we're going to make a supply run to the store later today."

"Well, you be careful, alright. Don't forget to put on your brace I don't want you hurting yourself again. Don't roll your eyes! I'm serious." Judy stopped mid-eye roll and looked at the blank phone screen. It wasn't a muzzle time call so how did her mom know- "I have 276 kits, Judy, I know when they're going to roll their eyes at me." As if to prove her point there was a loud crash in the background. "Speak of the devil. I got to go see what that was. You take care alright? Let me know if Nick needs more blueberries. Bye Bun Bun, love you!" And the blip sound told Judy the call was over.

"Ugh, bye mom, love you too." She mumbled.

"Feeling moody instead of loopy today Carrots?" Nick spoke up right behind her ears. Judy openly shrieked and dived for the floor and crawled under the coffee table to the other side.

Once she was standing again Judy whirled on Nick. "You, you big dumb dumb, dummy head!" She yelled and repeatedly punched one fist into her palm. "I swear if you ever do that again I'll I'll! I don't know right now! But you won't like it!"

This entire show of anger Nick didn't see. As soon as Judy had kamikazed off the couch he had started laughing so hard he wasn't able to keep his balance and had slowly fallen to the floor.

"Shut up Nick you don't get to laugh," Judy said as she walked around the couch and looked at Nick on the floor. Not heeding her words Nick kept laughing. This caused Judy's foot to start thumping the floor at a dangerous speed. But still, Nick kept chuckling.

His laughing was infectious because Judy was having a hard time keeping herself contained. Desperately she tried one last threat. "If you don't stop, uh, I'll tell my mom to stop sending the blueberries." She couldn't help how unconvincing it sounded and worse yet the small snort of a laugh at the end. Within fifteen seconds Judy's giggles joined Nick's.

After several minutes of giggling and then catching their breath, Nick and Judy picked themselves up and embraced. Nick rubbed Judy's ears affectionately. "I don't believe you Fluff not for a second. Your mom would still send those blueberries regardless of what you said."

"Yeah, I know. So what are you going to make for breakfast?"

Nick entered the kitchen opened a cabinet and produced a can. "What do you think about some quick grits?"

"That sounds great!" It had been a long while since Judy had any hot cereals.

"Could you go pick up the mail? I'm expecting something, rather important. I'll get this started." Nick said as he pulled out a pot.

"Alright, I'll be right back." Judy turned around swiped Nick's keys off the counter and headed for the door. The mailboxes were at the end of the hall. It was still relatively early, in Nick's terms, so most people were already out to work or home from the night shift sleeping.

Judy strolled down the hall happily. Once there she inserted a brass key into box 7 which opened. After retrieving the stack of paper Judy closed the small door and started shuffling through it. "Junk, junk, trash, newspaper, fancy cat magazine, trash, urgent…" In her paw Judy held an envelope that had the words 'URGENT OPEN IMMEDIATELY' printed in red across it. Without thinking about it Judy used her small claw to open the envelope and pulled out the paper. It read:

 _'Mr. Wilde_

 _This is an eviction notice. After falling behind on your rent for several months and being unable to pay up you are being evicted from the living space. You have two weeks to leave the premise. That or you can you pay the rent like we agreed, fox._

— _Lori Fuller'_

Judy carefully folded the letter back up and put it back in its envelope. It made sense now, it all made sense now! Why Nick didn't want to pay for meals much anymore. The reason he had budget food items. And most of all probably why he still only had the same style of clothes he'd been wearing when they first met. But that could just be her overreacting. It all made sense now! And it made Judy feel sick. Nick was really struggling to make ends meet.

Judy slowly started walking back to Nick's door. On the way, she thought out loud. "How can I help him? This can't continue like this. If he gets kicked out he'll have nowhere to live. Maybe he could live with me. No, no that definitely won't work not with the Bucky and Pronk show. Maybe I… could move… in with him…" Judy stopped in front of Nick's door and trailed off as the gravity of what she had just said hit her like a brick. Would Nick want to live with her? Was their relationship ready for that? Were they going too fast?

On autopilot, Judy opened Nick's door and padded inside. Once on the other side, she saw Nick just finish placing bowls on the counter. "Well was there anything interesting, any blueberries? He winked at Judy but his smile fell away when he saw her worried and nervous face. "What's wrong?" All Judy did in reply was pass the envelope to Nick.

Nick took the package already knowing what was inside. He was about to tare it open when he saw it already had been. He looked up at Judy and was going to ask but she beat him to it.

"Nick, I want to move in with you. I know we're still new to this." She motioned between herself and Nick. "I know it could be too soon. But I, I think we're ready to take this step. It's your choice Nick; I won't be upset if you don't want to."

Nick was quiet for a second just trying to comprehend what he'd just heard. _'Where in the world did she get this from?'_ looking down at the opened envelope answered his question.

Once again Judy was trying to help him and make his life better. She was ready to take the next step, but was he? It was a question he didn't even need to ask, he knew. Yes, he was ready to take the plunge. Nick gently set the envelope and letter down on the counter and rested his fingers on it.

"You know Carrots I've been telling you to get a bigger apartment since we met. But here I am, silly me; with a nice big one that just feels like it's missing something, or maybe someone... It does get a little lonely around here and I think some good company would do me some good."

Judy's smile was so big it might as well have gone from ear to ear. "Really Nick, you mean it?" He nodded. Judy took in a huge breath and her eyes started to glisten. Almost as if he could read her mind Nick knelt down and opened his arms. As fast as her padded feet could carry her Judy rushed into his embrace almost knocking them to the floor.

They stayed there basking in the happy moment and the love they felt for each other. But the moment was interrupted as the pot of grits boiled over snapping crackling and popping as it hit the burner. In an instant, Nick was at the stove stirring the pot and turning down the flame. When the contents were under control again he turned around to Judy, who was standing right behind him.

"Come here." She grabbed his tie and gently pulled his head to hers where she kissed him softly on the lips. He was quick to kiss her back. Too soon the sweet action was over. When Judy pulled away she nuzzled Nick affectionately. "I love you, Nick." She murmured.

It was like a drug how those words made Nick feel. He felt wanted, trusted, valued and loved; all things that Nick hadn't sincerely felt in years. Feelings he had learned to hide and ignore. He was the only one that cared and even that he'd stopped doing. But not anymore that was a past life, it was over and his new life was still beginning and changing for the better. He was beyond happy to be taking this next step with his bunny by his side.

"I love you too." Dropping to his knees Nick hugged Judy again. "Thank you. For everything you do. Don't ever stop being you." Judy nodded into his shoulder as she held him back tightly.

After another intimate moment together Nick and Judy stepped apart and smiled at each other. "Alright, Carrots the grits are almost done. You go sit down and I'll add the sugar to them and be right over." Judy did as asked and went and sat at the card table they used as a kitchen table. "So what are you going to do about your lease at the Grand Pangolin in Arms?" Nick asked as he poured some sugar into the pot.

"We'll just have to go over there today and get my stuff and close my lease. It is almost the end of the month anyway."

"You mean we're going to move you over here today; all your stuff?"

"Yeah, I don't have much. Just clothes, a microwave, my bedding, the desk and whatever's inside it. That's it! I mean we could put ninety present of it in garbage bags to move it. It'll be easy." She explained excitedly.

Nick walked over with two bowls in paw and sat one in front of Judy and another at his spot before he plopped down as well. "Alright, we'll stop there before we go to the store."

"Ooh, this is so exciting! I can't wait." Judy said happily. Nick just smiled as he started eating his food.

* * *

Twenty minutes later the pair, now well fed, were walking down to Nick's car. Judy was dressed in a dark green plaid shirt and jeans. While Nick had changed into a pair of khakis. Judy was happily bouncing and skipping as she hummed to herself. After she was out the front doors and seated in the LTD did she speak.

"Hey, Nick did you ever get the damage to your car fixed? You know when we chased…" she trailed off. But her message came in loud and clear.

"Oh yeah I talked to Bogo about it and he said he'd take care of it. This is actually the first time I've been in here since that night." The car had been delivered about a week back when the precinct mechanic was finished working on it. Nick peeled a large sticky note off the steering wheel. He read it out loud to Judy who was looking at the dictionary-sized paper.

"We installed a few upgrades hope you don't mind. Bogo just says not to use the siren and lights unless you really need to. The radio has been upgraded as well. Hope this helps in the future. Sincerely, Officer James Graves."

"What does he mean siren and lights? Also isn't Officer Graves the one that answered your radio call that night?" Judy asked.

"Yeah he was, he even visited us while we were in the hospital, remember?" Judy shook her head. Her memories from then were still a little foggy.

Nick set the note aside and looked around. On the dash, there were two new knobs. They even matched the style of all the others. One said 'Lights' and the other 'Siren' "No way… They wouldn't." Nick pulled the knob labeled 'lights' and saw a hidden light bar at the top of the windshield start flashing red and blue. "They outfitted my car to be an undercover cop car!"

"That's so cool! Why do you think Bogo did that?" Judy asked.

"Well let's see. First, we arrest one mayor then we cause city-wide uproar, then we arrest another mayor, all of this without support or help. Now fast forward a year and a half we're uncovering conspiracies left and right. I think this is a little overdue." Nick finished by pushing in the knob shutting the lights them off.

Judy laughed and tried to box Nick's shoulder but was barely able to reach. "Fine fine you win. This is overdue."

Nick and Judy arrived at the latter's apartment around fifteen minutes later. When Judy unlocked the door and walked in the first thing she noticed was the layer of dust that rested over everything.

"I can't believe it's been almost two months since I've been here." She murmured to herself.

"Yeah, time flies. I just wish that date of ours could have gone better."

"Me too Nick." A dreamy look materialized on her face as she continued. "With the way you were dancing with me and the way things were going… right before we were interrupted. You know I would have kissed you right there and then if you would have been able to tell me how you felt?" She walked over to the desk and hit a button on her alarm clock which started playing music "But that's in the past, for now, let's focus on the present!" She declared happily.

So they started packing. They started with the clothes; which there weren't very many of. Judy yelled at Nick when he started unpacking her underwear drawer. Which he countered by saying that he'd already been through it whenever she'd asked him to retrieve some of her stuff. It ultimately ended in her blushing really brightly and not looking at Nick.

Pictures were taken down clothes folded and bagged up and bedding stripped from the bed. Even Judy's stuffed bunny collection was carefully bagged away. Nick had to point out that she also had a fox one, which resulted in more blushing. They were nearing the end of the job when a particular song started playing on Judy's clock.

"Abandon Ship, this is one of my favorite songs Nick!" after the song had been playing for several second Judy couldn't stay still and was dancing around the room to the heavy bass. When the chorus started she grabbed Nick's paws. "Come on Nick dance with me." Before he even knew what was happening they were dancing spinning and bouncing around the room. Together they narrowly dodged bags, a couple of boxes and even the microwave.

Nick saw how happy Judy was. Saw how bright her smile was, it still lit up his world. This was what he wanted, for her to be happy. He loved the way she moved and the way her eyes seemed to glow with life, energy, and joy. He would never leave her side. He would be there for her for as long as he was alive. Through hell and high water, not even the end of the world could separate them.

The room was spinning around them but they didn't focus on that. Their eyes remained locked the entire time. Their breathing began to synchronize; as did their movements. And the room remained a blur. Again the bass solo came and they broke apart Judy hopping and dancing to the music and the beat. Nick found himself dancing along with her; goofy moves and all.

Once again the chorus began to start and they came together and started dancing as one; the beat leading them on. Judy looked up and time seemed to slow down in her eyes. Nick's emerald eyes were locked with hers. They burned with life and affection. Here she was dancing in her soon to be old apartment with her best friend, her fox. She really _was_ taking this step. It wasn't another dream she would have to wake up from. The thought brought a surreal feeling over her before time started to move again. She would be by his side till the day she died. Nothing would come between them.

Their spinning grew faster and they got closer as the song drew to its end. The beat was in their ears and they could feel it in their chests, even though the song itself wasn't playing loud. And when it seemed the beat and chorus couldn't get any more intense they dropped off with one final note and the song was over.

Together Nick and Judy stood still in the middle of her bare apartment. They held each other close as they caught their breath from the exertion. Still huffing Nick broke the silence.

"I didn't know you were into electro music Carrots. I thought you liked Gazelle."

"I still do. But I like this kind of stuff too. It gives me a sorta energy; so it makes good working music. I used to listen to it every time I'd run a tractor during haying season back home. That reminds me. Do you still want to come home with me for Thanksgiving?"

"Of course Fluff I'd love to." Nick picked up a couple of the black bags. "Come on let's get this loaded up." Judy nodded and grabbed a bag herself and they headed out the door.

"So is that what you and your mom were talking about this morning?"

Judy threw the bag over her shoulder with a grunt. "Yeah, she was telling me that they'd be haying when we're visiting. Everyone in the community helps each other out during harvest. It's a busy time but there are festivals and potlucks. And with it being almost Thanksgiving there's the Carrot Days festival too. So there's a lot to do."

They continued talking as they descended the stairs. "Sounds like fun. Say do you think your dad would mind if I drove one of the tractors? I think that'd be fun to learn to do."

"The more help the better. I'll probably be teaching you if you'd like." Judy smiled over at him.

Nick returned her smile. "Sure I don't mind. It'd be nice to spend some alone time with you." He waggled his eyebrows.

"Nick, we already spend every day together and neither of us really ever leave the house. So what's your point?" She winked at the stunned fox.

Once they reached the lobby Judy asked if Nick could take her bag the rest of the way. Saying her back was getting sore and that she needed to talk to her landlady. Immediately Nick obliged and took the bad from her paws and continued to the car. Whenever the fox returned he found Judy where he'd left her.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing, I just returned my keys and tried to pay my rent. But she wouldn't accept it. She said that she'd heard about what happened and since I haven't been here since then; not to worry about it."

"Are you going to miss it, living here?" Nick asked as they ascended the stairs.

"Yeah, a little. This was my first home. I earned the money to be here. I've never done that before so I'll always remember it. I do have to admit that I am going to miss the complimentary delousings. I think I'm due to get one."

"Oh, so that's why I see you scratching so much now. That's probably why I've been so itchy lately. You know you rub all over me when you sleep. Oh no, I've got rabbit cooties! Someone help me! I've been infected by the fluff!" Judy rolled her head back and laughed, and soon Nick joined in.

"Shut up Nick you know you love it."

"Indeed I do Fluff. I love ya."

* * *

Judy sat down in the passenger seat of the car letting out a breath of relief. She turned around and looked at her and Nick's handy work. The back seat was full of bags of clothes with a desk. The rest of her belongings were in the trunk.

The driver's door opened and Nick slid into his seat. "Well, Carrots that's the last of it. You ready to go?"

Judy was about to nod when the doors to her old apartment building opened drawing her attention. When she looked over she saw Bucky and Pronk walking towards them.

"Are you leaving Judy?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go live with Nick." She answered.

Pronk scratched his neck. "We just wanted to say goodbye and good luck. So… good luck."

"Aww, thanks, guys. I'll see you two around. Try to be quieter; I don't wanna have to arrest you for a noise disturbance."

"Will do bunny cop." They said in unison. They waved as Nick drove away.

As soon as the window was rolled up Nick spoke. "They aren't going to quiet down are they?"

Judy shook her head with a serious look on her face. "No, no they are not. I just hope it's not us that gets called into breakup one of their arguments."

"You wanna bet?"

"Nick no not now. I actually need another one of my pills. I overdid it back there."

"Carrots I told you I could handle the desk myself. But no; you just had to help." Nick pulled a baggie out of his shirt pocket. "Here, that's two today. Don't go getting all silly on me now." Judy nodded before she swallowed the pill.

And on they drove in silence. Nick was heading to a local store called Blair's. They served both predator and prey of the small and medium-size class. Their prices were fair according to Nick. Judy had never been there before. So, of course, she insisted they'd go there specifically. It wasn't far, only about ten minutes away. And the time passed quickly. Before either knew it they were walking through the automatic doors.

"Alrighty, Carrots what do we need to get stocked up on?"

Judy put a paw to her chin in thought. "Humm fruit vegetables and orange juice. You ran out yesterday morning."

"And whose fault is that." Nick jabbed.

"Well, I'm sorry I got thirsty. It's not my fault we need liquid to survive." Judy parried. "We also need more tortillas." Nick rolled his eyes and grabbed a cart.

They strolled the store looking for anything they might need. The first place they stopped was the produce section. Judy led Nick around as she checked how ripe various fruits and vegetables were. But before they made it all the way through the section Judy started slowing down. Nick was at her side in no time placing his paw on her shoulder helping to support her.

"You alright Fluff? You're slowing down a little."

Judy reached up to her shoulder and held Nick's paw. "I'm just getting tired Nick. I'll be alright."

"You sure? You know you could ride around in the cart if you'd like."

"And look like a little kid? No thank you."

"What I'd bet you'd like it. It'd be like a carnival ride. It's a fox-sized cart and you are rather small. It's a perfect fit!"

"Nick I said no and that's the end of it." Judy made to keep walking but suddenly was in the air. "Nick! What are you doing?! Put me down!"

"I'm sorry Carrots but you're walking around like you've had too many drinks. I'm not going to have to pick up a stack of apples because you decided to rest against them." He carried her over to the shopping cart and plopped her into the child seat.

Judy crossed her arms and looked anywhere but at Nick. "This is so humiliating." She said lowly.

"Don't worry Fluff it'll be fun. You just let me know if there's anything you see that we need."

Judy didn't respond so Nick kept getting stuff he liked to eat. Like cherry tomatoes and a forest of broccoli. He also grabbed a carton of strawberries and a bouquet of flowers for Judy. He knew she loved to snack on them. He saw her eye the fruits for a second before she went back to pouting.

After the produce section, Nick pushed the cart to the canned goods aisle where he picked up some tomato soup and some cream of mushroom. He hated mushrooms but he knew Judy didn't. She was just weird like that.

Next was the chips and cereal aisle. Kind of an odd combo, but he didn't run the store. He was just browsing when Judy tugged on his sleeve. "Hey, Nick. Could you maybe get some Peanut Butter Bunnies? I, they're my favorite."

"Of course my dear Carrots," Nick replied in a teasing manner. He crossed to the other side of the aisle and grabbed a box of the peanut butter and chocolate flavored cereal. "I guess we're going to need some milk for these too?" Judy nodded in reply.

Nick handed Judy the box and the change in her attitude was like a light coming on. "Have you ever had these Nick? They're so good! I never really liked them when I was little but for some reason, I do now." And on she went as Nick left the aisle.

"You know we need to get you a coffee maker, and some coffee too. You can't have a coffee maker without coffee to put in it. That's just wrong. You should know this you seem to worship the stuff every morning. Ooh, we need some of those!"

Nick looked over where she was pointing and just about passed out from shock. Judy was pointing at several different brands of potpies. Nothing weird other than they all had poultry in them.

"Um, Judy I don't think you can eat those… um…safely." Nick tried to reason.

"Nonsense I eat chicken all the time!" she declared loudly.

Nick put a paw to his face. _What have I done?_ "Alright, Carrots if you say so." After retrieving two pies from the freezer Nick hurried on. Next was the baking aisle. They didn't even make it half way through before Judy was begging Nick to get a box of plain vanilla cake mix.

"Please Nick. It'll be so good. I'll even make it so you don't have to."

"I'm sorry Carrots I don't want my kitchen to become a war zone so no. I'll be the one making this." He shook the box he was holding. Before they left Judy snagged a can of vanilla frosting without Nick noticing.

Twelve more isles came and went. Every single one had at least one thing on it that Judy wanted. Be it tortillas, soda pop, cookies, bean burritos and even a package of rags compressed into different shapes. Thankfully the only things Nick budged on were the tortillas and burritos.

"Alright Carrots we're going to go check out then we get to go home! Time for you to get out of the cart."

"Aww, Nick I don't want to walk." She slurred 'walk' pretty badly.

"I don't care. Come on" He grabbed her under the arms and lifted her small weight out of the cart. Once on ground level again Judy stood and looked at Nick like he'd just betrayed her. Nick held out his paw to her which she took with her own. Once again her mood was instantly brighter. His fingers engulfed her own forming a protective shield around her paw. She liked it. It made her feel safe.

* * *

On the inside of Nick's apartment muffled voices could be heard outside the door. "No not that one Carrots the other gold one. Yes yes that one! No the other one. The one with the house shaped top. No that's round, square, that's a triangle, yes that one right there! Now unlock the door. The other lock; the top one. That's still the bottom one. Your key's upside down. Turn it around, no the pointy end, yes that way. Now make that part go down. Perfect! Now turn it. No the other way. Yes yes! That's good open the door."

At last, the door opened and Nick stumbled in with both paws filled with shopping bags. Rushing to the kitchen he carefully deposited them on the floor. Judy waltzed into the house with Nick's keys in her paw.

"That was hard Nick."

Nick turned around and looked at Judy and shook his head. "Yeah tell me about it. It's not like I have to take care of a crazy rabbit that is driving me crazy right now."

They'd stopped to eat a late lunch at the deli down the road. Which was an escapade in itself. He'd never doubt how many lettuce wraps Judy could eat in two minutes again. Nick shuttered at the memory. She could win contests with that eating speed.

"Who are you talking about Nick? Want me to beat them up?" She punched one paw into the other in an adorable and _almost_ threatening manner. Nick almost burst out laughing at her response and auction.

"No, it's alright Judy. They're *snort* they're not causing any troubles. Now while I put this stuff away," Nick walked over and opened a drawer and pulled out a deck of cards. "Why don't you build me a house of cards?" He handed the pack to Judy. She went into the living room to get to work.

 _That'll keep her busy for a while._ He snickered was it mean? Maybe. Was it funnier than Judy's carrot themed underwear? Beyond funny. Nick shook his head and got to work. He sorted through all the stuff they'd gotten and placed each object in its respective place.

After that was done he went back out and started retrieving Judy's bags of clothes. Carrying four bags at a time resulted in only one trip. After carrying them up he started hanging the contents in his closet alcove.

It was a strange feeling to be filling a space that was once his own with someone else's belongings. It wasn't a bad feeling, no not at all. He wanted the space filled. It was a good but strange feeling.

After carrying up the desk Nick placed it next to his own desk. Sorting through more bags Nick placed some pictures on it alone with her lamp. Nick left Judy's other pictures on the desk as well she could decide where she wanted to hang them up later. The last thing Nick did was put Judy's accursed alarm clock on her nightstand.

When Nick reemerged from the bedroom, now with some lazy clothes on, he found Judy's masterpiece, which was just a messy pile of cards. "What happened Fluff?" he asked the angry looking rabbit on the couch.

"I can't build a house of cards." She grumbled after a second she looked up at Nick as a puzzled expression came to her face. "Nick, why is your shirt on backwards?"

Nick silently groaned. _Not this again._ "Carrots my shirt is not on backwards. It's still on the right way."

"Then why isn't there any picture on the front?"

"It's just a plain white tee shirt. See?" he pulled on the piece of cloth to help prove his point. That was when he saw the tag of the shirt in the front. "Oh come on! That's no fare! These shirts are too comfortable to tell when they're on backwards!"

Judy rolled around on the couch laughing as Nick took the shirt off and turned it around. "I I *gasp* told you it was on backwards!" She started laughing harder.

Nick sat down next to her. "Har har very funny Carrots."

"Yeah, it is." She laughed. Nick didn't respond. "Oh come on Nick don't be mad. I do it too sometimes." She whispered.

Nick sighed. "Yeah right. You take too much care to do that."

"No, it's true! I actually have to remind myself every morning to check to see if I got my uniform tights on the right way."

"So you mean to tell me that you've worn your pants on backwards to work. Even with the knee pads?" This was capturing his interest.

"I hate to admit it but yes, I've worn my pants on backwards to work on more than one occasion. They're just so comfortable I can't tell." She giggled at her own funny story. "Also my knee pads can come off separately."

Nick let his own laugh escape his muzzle. "Fine, I guess we're both guilty." Judy nodded happily. "Well, what do you want to do now?"

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"Wanna watch a movie?"

"Sure, what you got?"

Nick got up and walked to the movie shelf. "Let me see… I've got the Wolverine?"

"Nah I don't want to watch Hugh Jackalman."

"The Stand?"

"No something less dark."

"Alright how about The Sixth Sense?"

"I said less dark!" Nick chuckled.

"The Hobbit?"

"No, I probably won't make it through all the movies. I'll be asleep halfway through the fourth one."

"The Godfather?"

"That's funny Fru Fru says that's like her dad's mob boss handbook."

"That's kind of scary. Alright, how about Elysium?"

"What's that about? I've never seen it."

Nick pulled the movie from the shelf. It was still in its protective plastic coating. "I don't know I just got this one."

"Put it in let's watch it!"

* * *

Nick and Judy sat on the couch listening to the end credits play. Nick was relaxing next to an armrest while Judy was lying down with her head resting on his thigh. She was absentmindedly playing with Nick's tail which was covering her like a blanket. Nick was returning the favor by gently massaging her ears.

The movie was about a fox named Max. He lived in a place where there were two different kinds of people. The rich and wealthy who lived on a massive space station called the Elysium and all the rest of the populous who lived on the overpopulated and ruined earth.

"You know Max reminds me a lot of you Nick," Judy said quietly.

"He does now, how so? It isn't just because he's a good looking fox like me, is it?"

"Well, he wasn't always a law abating person. He just wanted to get through life without trouble. But in the end, he gave _everything_ so everyone else could live better lives. He had a good heart even if it didn't always show on the outside."

"Wow, I'm that great am I? And I'm good looking. No wonder I can't get rid of you."

Judy shoved Nick's leg "Shut up Nick! You ruined the moment."

"No, I didn't." He leaned down and kissed the bunny between her big purple eyes. "Oops, I missed. Let me try again." Taking another shot Nick kissed Judy's pink nose. Which started twitching a mile a minute. "There's something wrong with me today. Alright, third time's a charm!" This time Judy leaned up and met him halfway.

As she reclined again Nick followed her down not breaking contact once. Judy's small paws reached up and she started running her fingers through Nick's fur. Nick gently grabbed one of her paws and ran his thumb over her fingers while his other reached down and cupped her cheek.

When they pulled apart it wasn't by much; their lips were still almost touching. "I guess you didn't ruin it that bad. You are pretty great and good looking."

"Well if I'm good looking and great then you're gorgeous and magnificent," he whispered back.

Judy's ears began turning red and her face started to feel hot. "Shut up and kiss me again you dumb fox!" Nick didn't need to be told twice. He leaned forward and mashed his lips into Judy's. It was just as sweet as the first time but lasted twice as long.

After they separated to breathe Nick sat up followed by Judy who crawled into his lap where she turned around and hugged him. Nick rested his muzzle on her head as he hugged her back. They just cuddled this way for a while. Enjoying the sound of the other's breathing and heartbeat. Each was steady and strong always present to reassure them the other was still there.

"You know what I find weird and cool about the movie?" Nick asked.

"What is it you find weird and cool about the movie?" Judy snickered.

"Don't think I don't see what you're doing. But back on subject, I think that it's really cool how Max's best friend was a bunny. He's a fox she's a bunny. You see what I'm getting at?"

"You're a fox and I'm a bunny… do you think? That maybe we might have more support or at least acceptance than we first thought?"

"I honestly have no idea Carrots. I hope it's true; that the world is changing."

"Yeah me too."

Judy sat in quiet thought for a long moment. There had been something she'd been meaning to ask Nick about for a while. But the right moment hadn't presented itself. She well knew it could ruin this sweet moment they were having now. But she needed to know the answer. So she asked. "Nick?" Judy began in a timid voice.

Nick picked his muzzle up off her head. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing I I just—" she hesitated and took a deep breath preparing for anything. "—Why do you get up in the night and come out here?"

Nick took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He remained quiet for a long time. So long in fact that Judy began to think he wasn't going to answer. "I dream. About you, about _that_ night and about how I could have lost you."

"Nick, why didn't you tell me? Why don't you wake me up?" She couldn't help the slightly disappointed tone that crept into her voice.

"I don't want you to worry."

"You don't want me to worry? How about when I do wake up and you're not there and I sit awake for hours and wonder why you left. Wonder what I did to anger you. And what you're doing and where you went. I thought you might have needed some space so I left you alone. But you needed me."

Nick heard a sniff and a second later could smell the salt of tears. "Judy please don't cry. I'm alright I prom—"

"No! You're not alright, you're trying to deal with something that you can't on your own! This isn't something you can keep bottled up just to save others a hassle. I told you about my dreams and you helped me. Why won't you let me help you? Nick, please let me in. Let me help you. If you're afraid I'll disappear don't be. I won't go anywhere, and I don't ever plan on it."

Nick took a shuddery breath. He knew Judy still had codeine in her system and it sometimes made her emotional. But she had hit that one spot. He liked to call it a raw nerve. That one topic that when bought up would tear down any and all defenses he had put up around it. Ever since he'd met Judy he'd grown more of these 'raw nerves'.

"Alright, Judy. You're right; I can't keep this to myself forever. But old habits die hard. I'm sorry."

Judy leaned back and looked Nick in the eyes with her own tear-filled ones. "Tell me what happens; in your dreams."

"I'm in that same clearing; rolled over van, dark forest all around me, big trees. It's all the same. Ryan is there too. He starts out holding you by your leg. Sometimes he throws you. Other's he'll just shoot you right there. Sometimes I can't move sometimes I'm not fast enough to save you. It always ends the same."

Judy listened as Nick retold the dreams. She felt horrible for not following him out when he left. She honestly thought maybe he just needed a break from her rambunctious energy. Oh, how mistaken she was. When Nick grew silent Judy looked up at him and saw that his eyes were facing down. Reaching out she lifted his face so he'd look at her.

"Nick that was two months ago. I'm here you're here. We made it. You didn't fail to save me. And I'm not just going to run away whenever I'm healed. I'm moving in with you. I'm going to live with you, I'll wake up with you; go to work with you; we'll make the world a better place together. I want to laugh and cry with you, Nick. I want to be with you, forever."

"I want to be with you too, I really do. And I know I didn't fail. It's just, I don't know. I don't know why I still have the same dream."

"Maybe it's because you leave me all alone every time you have one." Judy ribbed trying to lighten the mood.

Nick chuckled as he wiped the last of Judy's tears away. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Judy relaxed back into Nick's chest. "Well, there goes the warm and fuzzy mood. Everything just got so serious. And I said _you_ ruined the mood."

Nick nodded his head before resting it on top of Judy's again. "Yeah, we need to settle down so our lives aren't so crazy. Move out to the country, get married, maybe have a couple kits."

"What you don't like our crazy? I like it. I met you because of it." She said fondly.

"Well there's that, but only that. Now, what do you want for supper?"

"Good way to change the subject." As if to drive Nick's point home Judy's stomach gurgled loudly. "Fine, how about a fried onion with a slice of bread on the side?"

"Alright, that's easy enough. Come on you can butter the bread."

Judy sat up and stretched her back with a groan. Surprisingly Nick was quicker and was already up and on his way to the kitchen by the time she was done. When Judy made it to the kitchen Nick was already half done peeling an onion.

"I swear you rabbits have the weirdest eating habits. I'm not sure I'll be kissing you much for the next day; you'll have onion breath."

"Well that's not nice; I kiss you all the time." She burst out laughing. "And *gasp* and if you don't like onions why did you agree to make one for dinner?"

"Maybe it's because I do like them and you've just thought for all this time I didn't."

There was a lull in the conversation as Nick started chopping the onion. "Hey, Nick you know how onions have layers, right?"

"Yeah, what are you trying to get at?"

* * *

Dinner eaten, dishes cleaned and night shorts on; Nick sat on the couch waiting for Judy to get out of the shower. She had insisted she take one since she hadn't earlier that morning. She had said something along the lines of smelling bad because she'd worked up quite the sweat while helping him move her belongings. He didn't think she smelled bad she just smelled like rabbit. Nick found himself getting more and more attached to the smell of rabbit the longer he lived with one. He didn't know if it was ancient instincts speaking or not.

Judy was taking her sweet time in the shower. As usual, she loved to take long showers. He never took long showers. They cost a lot and took too long. Judy was so bad about it that she'd made him stay in the shower with her for nearly half an hour whenever he helped wash her back while they were in the hospital. He liked to tease her about it now and again. It wasn't really _that_ bad, he did enjoy it but only that one time.

Nick was scrolling through the latest batch of memes chuckling whenever he found a funny one. He'd heard the water stop five minutes ago and Judy still wasn't out. Putting his phone down Nick got up to go see if his crazy bunny was alright.

As he crossed the room the realization that Judy was going to be living there with him hit again. This wasn't the first time he'd thought about it and it probably wouldn't be the last. Nick shook his head and chuckled silently. It was just crazy how everything had worked out.

Judy had teased saying he didn't like how crazy their lives were. She knew he loved it. He really did. After spending over half his life trying to keep his head low and stay out of trouble. It was a good change of pace to be doing something more, noble. The only thing he didn't like about it was whenever Judy ran headstrong into danger.

Nick reached out and wrapped his knuckles on the door. "You alright in there Carrots? You didn't fall in, did you? Or have you fallen and you can't get up?"

"Will you shut up Nick! I was enjoying myself until you had to come and bang on the door." The door opened and out walked a damp Judy in her green pajamas.

"What, I didn't scare you did I?" Nick teased. Judy started grumbling under her breath and walked by Nick. As Judy walked by Nick turned and saw her cute little cotton tail. It was still damp and freshly brushed. _Ooh, this'll be good._ Before she got too far away Nick reached out and tweaked the tip of her tail "Beep!"

Judy jumped in the air with a high pitched squeal. When she landed she turned around so fast her still wet ears whirled around and slapped her in the face with a loud splat. The force from the impact of ears caused her to lose balance and start falling backwards. Judy flailed her arms to try and regain balance but to no avail. Accepting her fate Judy braced for impact. At the last possible second, Judy felt a large paw grab a hold of hers and an arm loop itself behind her. Just as suddenly as she'd started falling she stopped.

When Judy had started falling time seemed to slow for Nick. Seeing her squeal and get mad was one thing but seeing her get hurt was another entirely. As fast as he could Nick stepped forward and caught one of Judy's paws and at the same time threw his arm underneath her to stop her fall completely. The end result looked like they'd been dancing and had dipped low to the ground. Nick was almost kneeling and Judy might as well have been lying down.

"Bet that scared you. You just about jumped out of your skin." Nick joked.

Judy opened her eyes and glared at the fox. "You're such a jerk!" she started squirming until Nick let her down on the floor. She was up and stomping away before the next witty comeback was able to roll off Nick's tough.

He tried following her, he really did, but was stopped by the sound of their bedroom door slamming. "Come on Fluff don't be mad. I didn't know your ears were going to attack your face." No answer. "Does this mean I'm sleeping on the couch? Without my sweet bunny? All alone away from warmth comfort and love?" He would have continued, in fact, he was just getting warmed up, but the bedroom door opened.

Walking in Nick found Judy in the middle of the room arms crossed foot thumping and scowl firmly in place. _Ooh, she's still mad. Alright not to worry Nick just say you're sorry and all will be fine._ Nick took a breath. "Look, Judy, I shouldn't have pinched your tail, I have no excuse. I'm sorry."

Her posture relaxed and the scowl disappeared. "No Nick I should have dried my ears better."

"You know I could help you with that." Nick pointed out.

"Nick no that, I don't think I could take that." Nick opened his mouth and pointed a finger in the air. "No, you can't dry off my tail either." Nick's paw fell. "Let's just get to bed."

Obeying her command Nick went to his side of the bed and crawled in. A second later Judy did the same. "You know I still love you right?" she asked. "It's just all the touching and feeling can get to be a little too much. It's not that I don't like it, I do. That's the problem, it's just, I get…"

They slid to the middle of the bed where their noses were almost touching. "It's alright Carrots, I understand. I also know I'll get to touch that cute little tail of yours someday."

Judy rolled her eyes. "Keep dreaming Slick, keep dreaming."

Interrupted by a yawn Nick smacked his lips. "That's a nice dream Carrots." His words started slurring as he started to fall to sleep. "I love you Carrots."

"I love you too." There was no response; Nick was asleep. But Judy wasn't yet. She was worried. In a week they would be reinstated to the force. Nick would probably be on normal duty and she would be on light duty.

But that wasn't what worried her. She was worried about what they'd learn about their case. They'd been kept completely in the dark since their run-in with Ryan. What had their coworkers found? Was it good or, bad? Every time she thought heavily about the subject she got a bad feeling; in her belly. She didn't even know from what or why. She just knew that they were working on something big maybe even bigger than the Night Howler crisis itself. She hated to imagine what would be bigger than the Night Howler crisis, that was already bad enough.

Judy yawned finely feeling sleep tug at her consciousness. It was gentle pull. She didn't know where it led but knew it couldn't hurt to find out. Snuggling up under Nick's chin Judy wrapped her arms around him. Before sleep completely took her she felt one of Nick's arms drape over her. She felt safe in his grasp like nothing could ever hurt her.

"I love you, Nick." She whispered into the night.

* * *

 **Well, there you have it. After three months. Jeez, it's been a long time. I was dealing with a little writer's block. I'm really really sorry about the delay. It was finals season and work is busy right now and as I said before I haven't been able to get online. But here it is I hope you liked it.**

 **Back when I was on codeine after I had my wisdom teeth pulled. I was loopy, to say the least. I guess I said some pretty funny stuff. I assume that's what it's like to be drunk or really buzzed.**

 **I know Nick and Judy aren't the only ones that wear stuff backwards. My dad is really bad about it. Sweatpants; tee shirts; underwear the list goes on. It's hilarious. If it doesn't have buttons or snaps to mark the front there's a problem. I personally have worn long johns backwards for days on end. That's why I said Judy wore her leggings backwards; because I it too! XD**

 **Alright on a lighter note we've passed seventy combined (FFN and DA) for the story! Oh my gosh, I am just floored by that. Thank you thank you thank you! You guys are what keep me going. I love seeing that you enjoy something I made. It gives me a reason to be creative, and being creative makes me happy. So keep it up guys!**

 **Alright, another big note. The one year anniversary for this story has passed. *pops cheap party popper* Whoo Hoo! (Reference right there, but can you guess what movie it's from?) Wow, that really snuck up on me. It's been an amazing journey so far. I've learned so much and gone through a lot to get where I am today. But I'm still here all the stronger for it. It's not over yet and I look forward to being able to share it with you guys. Thank you all for sticking with me this long.**

 **Okay, last note. This chapter is FULL of references. Like there's a lot of them, like ten of them at least, I think, maybe? Even the chapter title is one. Honestly, I don't know how I got that many in this chapter usually I'm terrible at including them. Finding them I'm good at, just putting them in my own stories is hard. From movie and TV lines to straight up mentioning movies by name see if you can find them all. No, seriously I've lost count and need help.**

 **Alrighty then, that's all I've got. Again I'm sorry for the delay; just look on the bright side the next chapter is done and edited! Expect it in two weeks. You guys take care and stay awesome I'll see you around. :)**


	16. Super (Not) Scary Return

**Hey everyone. I know I said I'd have this up six days ago but stuff happened. The biggest of which was my sister being diagnosed with** **Kawasaki disease. This is a disease that only affects kids 2 to 5 years old. I'm not going to lie or sugar coat it ; she almost died... It was a nightmare. But it's been a week since she got to come home and she's doing great. I was actually back home to help in any way I could. I'm just really tired from all that. To those of you that knew about this and kept my sister in your hearts and minds thank you so much! Well that's enough doom and gloom on with the chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

 **Super (Not) Scary Return**

* * *

Tuesday august 22nd rolled around faster than either fox or rabbit thought possible. Today was a big and rather scary day. Today was going to be crazy. Today they'd get judged. Today they were active cops once again.

It was an almost surreal morning for all involved. Nick and Judy bounced around the house quietly and quickly. They readied both physically and mentally for the challenges and tests ahead.

At one point Nick even had to remind Judy not to wear the bottoms of her uniform backwards. Judy bellowed a laugh at him but when she looked down made the cutest cross between a meep and a groan Nick had ever heard.

While Judy was changing around her pants Nick was readying his brand new Bunn coffee machine. It was customary for the brands catch phrase to be along the lines of: "Makes a full pot of delicious coffee in three minutes or less!"

Nick had scoffed and teased Judy about how he thought she could make a better cup of coffee faster with her boundless energy. The first time he fired up the coffee pot with long ears on it he was shocked to find out its selling slogan wasn't a lie. It really did make a pot of coffee in three minutes or less.

Judy made a triumphant return and Nick silently handed her a to-go mug. It was weird that they hadn't really talked but still seemed to communicate as they readied themselves.

Walking to the door Nick opened it for Judy who walked under his arm to get going, brushing her ears on him as she went.

"Well Carrots," Nick spoke but it seemed more like he was shouting it compared to the dominating silence. "Are you ready for this?"

Judy looked at Nick; many emotions flying over her features in a split second. But one stood out, sure there was nervousness and excitement but Nick didn't like to see fear among the mix.

Sighing Nick watched as Judy's will resolved and grew from stone to iron. With a confident smile she answered. "As long as you're by my side, I'm ready for anything."

The drive over to Precinct One city center was surreal and quiet, to say the very least. Nick and Judy both had their reasons to be quiet but they were more alike than either would have thought.

Judy was excited to be returning to her job. At the same time she was terrified of what her coworkers would think of her relationship. Another thought passed through her mind too; _What if they think I'm stupid and impulsive for pursuing Ryan? It's my fault Nick and I got hurt._ Judy looked over to see that was Nick raging a war with his thoughts as well.

Indeed Nick was raging a war on the inside. All his worries were the same other than the fact that he wasn't worried for himself but the bunny sitting next to him. All his life he'd been talked down to and treated like a sickness. After a while he just stopped caring what others thought of him, them and their opinions didn't matter. But he would not stand to see Judy treated like that. In no way what so ever did she deserve it.

If someone so much as looked at her the wrong way he'd-

Before he actually started to let a snarl show Nick was interrupted by a tiny paw. A tiny paw that was now resting on his gently clinging just as much to give support as it was there seeking it.

Looking up Nick's emerald eyes met Judy's concerned violet ones. "You alright?" She worriedly asked.

Nick sighed. _I must be getting easy to read._ "Yeah Carrots, I'm just a tiny bit nervous. How about you?"

"Tiny is a little too tiny to describe it."

"You're scared? Pfzzz, You're 'The Judy Hopps'! You took on a rhino and won. You've gone head to head with savage predators and didn't break a sweat. And you looked a crazed animal with a gun in the eye and insulted him! You're not afraid of anything!"

Judy laughed. She was beyond relieved for the distraction from her worrying. It almost felt foreign to laugh. Even though she'd done plenty of it very recently, like last night for example. Rolling her eyes she replied. "Whatever you say Nick."

The rest of their ride was made in a more comfortable silence. Both passengers drawing strength from each other. That was until they arrived. It almost seemed to take forever but happened so fast at the same time. Like instantly and eternally combined; internally.

Nick and Judy looked at each other one last time.

"Ready Carrots?"

"No."

"Good, nether am I."

They nodded it almost felt like they were just on another patrol checking out suspicious bunnies in alleyways. Disembarking saw them in the middle of the outside parking lot. Immediately they walked behind the car and locked paws.

N: _Together?_ Nick signed.

J: _Always_ Judy returned.

And they were off. Nervousness was not a word that could describe what they felt. The building they approached almost stood taller stronger and all the more intimidating then last they'd seen. It was a welcomed and feared sight all in one.

The steps passed under their paws almost as if they were floating above them. Then the doors revolved out of the path seemingly of their own accord. And there they stood; in the lobby of the ZPD. At last the moment of truth had arrived.

The first thing they noticed was how few people were in the lobby. Not just cops but civilians too. There were three cops and one tiny ewe dragging a teen, albeit, large ram out of the building by his horn.

As soon as the tiny duo's paws hit the polished granite floor the room seemed to freeze. Not only did the temperature seem to plummet but every single living thing seemed to lock their gaze on them.

Before any one could say anything Clawhauser pushed a button on his desk radio and spoke three tiny words. That was all it took was three single syllable words and all chaos broke loose.

"Wolford, they're here."

Judy didn't even have time lift to a finger to ask before a deafening crash that happened to sound a lot like a desk flying across a room was heard from one of the upper levels. All either of the small cops could perceive was a dark gray blur. A dark gray blur that was heading straight for them. Wolford was in a full sprint until he was about ten feet away from the two tiny officers where he dropped to his knees and slid the rest of the way.

Nick froze up and was glued to the spot while Judy tried to bolt. But she wasn't able to because her paw was trapped in Nick's. She grabbed her own arm and jerked hard to try to break free but was unsuccessful.

"Nick! Let me go! AAAAAAAA!"

Both Nick and Judy found themselves swept up in a bone crushing hug.

"Oh thank god you guys are back! I've missed you, Clawhauser's missed you: we've all missed you!" After a couple short moments Wolford put the two down and backed away. Nick rubbed his neck.

"We're glad to see you too buddy. Just next time try to be a little easier on the back. Carrots' isn't completely healed."

"Sorry-"Judy raised her paw stopping his speech.

"Ralph, stop I'm fine." Judy smacked Nick in the midsection. "He just thinks I'm east to break or something."

Wolford glanced around seeming to look for something before he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry to leave you guys so quick but I gotta head to roll." Pointing a thumb behind himself Wolford turned and jogged off.

"We best be getting there ourselves, Slick."

Before they left the huge room Judy stopped at Clawhauser's desk. She leapt up and hugged the huge feline around the neck.

"It's good to have you guys back. It hasn't been the same around here without you." He said and really meant it.

Without the light and life Nick and Judy brought to the station morale had plummeted. The fox and rabbit were part of the symbolic family that made up the ZPD. It was no understatement to say they were a family. Anyone of them would go massively out of their way to help the others. When someone in that family was hurt or gone all the others worried sick for them. Even when told Nick and Judy were going to be alright the majority of the cops still didn't perk up.

There wasn't much time for words. They'd already arrived late in Judy's fifteen minutes early policy. The fox and rabbit punched in and made a straight bee line for the bull pen.

Now here they stood. Before them was the massive wooden door. Judy could hear the usual noise of board cops. Murmuring, laughing and the occasional crash signaling the end of an arm wrestling match were all the norm.

Bracing for anything Judy grabbed Nick's paw gave it a squeeze and pushed on the door. It had become customary to leave it slightly ajar for them, so it swung open easily.

It was as if Judy has stepped out of the dark on to a brightly lit stage, and all the lights were directed at her. In seconds the room was dead silent. Keeping her eyes locked forward Judy marched on with what she hoped was the appearance of nerves of steel, rather than how they really felt.

For Nick and Judy the quite seemed to last a small life time but it was really only two seconds before…

"It's Nick and Judy!"

"Welcome back guys!"

"How have you two been?"

"Are you really in a relationship now?"

Any and all other greetings were drowned out as everyone in the room started hooting whistling clapping and banging on the tables.

Now standing tall and much more confident Nick and Judy finished their walk to their oversized chair. Nick turned around and was about to do a bow for his wonderful audience but Judy gave his tail a firm tug which produced a sound between a choke and a yelp.

As soon as their tails were seated the loud noise died down. Questions started to filter to their ears. Questions like.

"Is it true that the both of you are together now?" The beep voice had come from directly next to Judy. Judy turned to see it was McHorn who'd asked. Seeing the opportunity several other officers in the room voiced their agreement.

Judy was wishing she could sink into the ground. Why did they all want to know? Right now of all times?! Her grip on Nick's paw tripled in pressure and she hid behind her ears.

J: _Nick do something_.

N: _You'd better not hit me for this_.

Nick stood up turned around and addressed the room. "Alright I guess I'd better put this rumor to rest before Carrots loses her ears due to third degree burns." He relished the undivided attention he got as the room fell completely silent. He took a breath and everyone seemed to lean in closer to better hear him. "Yes, Carrots and I are together now."

Time seemed to stop completely as Judy tensed and prepared for the noise.

* * *

Chief Abrams Bogo was having a wonderful morning. It was a rare occurrence with the recent happenings of Wilde and Hopps' confrontation with the Silent Hand. But today the troublesome duo would be coming back to work.

He had to admit that having them get hurt hit the whole station _hard_ to say the absolute least. With their return today everyone's attitude and behavior was next to perfect. He even had the pleasant surprise of finding the break room's coffee maker was full when he retrieved his morning cup. Yep, life was finally looking up after recent events.

Bogo was strolling down the halls to morning roll call. Right as he rounded the last corner the room he was heading for exploded with noise. Bogo shook his head. Not even at work for a full hour and he was already tired of his smallest officers. He hadn't even seen them yet!

Reaching out he turned the tiny door knob. Once the door was open the noise only got worse. Wilde was standing in his chair with Hopps trying to hide herself in his tail next to him. Yelled questions flew around as thick as flies. Among them were.

"How long have you two been a thing?" asked Wolford.

"Congrats Wilde! I've been rooting for the both of you!" yelled Grizzoil.

"When's the wedding?" Clawhauser called from the front door.

"Are you kidding? They haven't been together two months and you're asking bout the wedding?" Delgato questioned to which Clawhauser nodded.

"Wait Clawhauser's got a point. Don't rabbit relationships move pretty quickly?" Asked Swinton.

"Alright everybody one question at a time." Nick called from the front. Surprisingly the room fell quiet and everyone sat back down. But it wasn't the fox cop that was the cause. The reason was right behind him and much, much taller.

"Alright we've been together—"

"Wilde." Bogo said calmly.

Nick whirled around and saw his boss. "Chief, how you been? I see you've been reading that book on happiness I gave you. Do you have a question?" Chuckles filtered around the room.

"Sit down." Nick's rump hit the chair he was standing on as if it was lead. "Now, we have two items on the docket today. First I'd like to welcome back Officers Hopps and Wilde."

For the third time that morning the room exploded with noise as cheers and howls assaulted the air. It had been a very long time since the station as a whole had been this high spirited. It did a lot for Bogo to know that his officers cared for each other so deeply. It was a rough and hard job they had. Many of them didn't have anyone other than their coworkers to rely on. Bogo did his best to make sure that each one of them had the support they needed and was happy to see they had it. Among all the noise he allowed a small smile to grace his face.

"Alright, that's enough!"

"Aww were you smiling chief? You do care."

"Shut your mouth Wilde!" _Why do I even try with him anymore?_ "Like I was saying before I was _interrupted_." Bogo sent a death glare at the fox culprit, who winked back. The commanding tone returned to his voice. "Same jobs as yesterday, patrols keep an eye out for that jewel thief. Report anything back to McHorn and Rhinowitz. Hopps, Wilde my office; five minutes. The rest of you are dismissed."

Chairs scraped the floor loudly as people got up to leave. A few last minute congratulations were thrown at Nick and Judy before they were the only ones left in the room.

"Uh-oh we've been called to the principal's office. What did you do this time Fluff?"

"Oh nothing too bad, I may have got caught making out in the hall between classes, but that doesn't matter." She purred. She waltzed up to Nick making sure to add just enough sway to her hips. She even curdled her ear around a finger in an innocent and also _not_ so innocent way.

Nick's eyes were glued to her and he knew she was up to something. But he couldn't move. It was as if he was looking into the eyes of an ancient cobra. What were they called? He liked to watch the documentaries about them every now and then. Was it a reptile?

Nick's thought process froze as Judy suddenly pulled his tie yanking his head down to her level. Nick looked into her eyes and saw that she wasn't mad, so he at least had that much going to for him. He also saw how red her cheeks were this close up.

"Nick, why did you do that?" she calmly asked.

"Do what my Fluff?"

"Embarrass me in front of all our coworkers, aggravate the chief, and antagonize everyone with information about our relationship. And don't you dare say because it's fun. If you say that you're sleeping on the couch tonight."

"What? You told me to do something, so I did. What are you complaining about?"

Judy opened her little mouth and took a breath to start arguing, but stopped cold. Nick was right.

"That still doesn't get you off the hook!" she batted his arm playfully.

"At least I'm not sleeping on the couch." he quipped back.

Judy tried to hide her smile with a groan but failed the act when Nick raised an eyebrow at her. Now thoroughly embarrassed, pleased _and_ frustrated Judy turned and walked out the same door Bogo had. Nick followed at a distance happily shaking his head and watching Judy's tail bob.

 _I don't know what we were so worried about. That went much better than I thought it would have._ Nick mused.

Relief was a good feeling for the duo; it always was. It's was as if they had been told a horrible truth then found it to be a lie. They could take a deep breath and know that it was at least going to be alright for a little while.

As they walked through the halls to the elevator Nick grabbed Judy's paw and gave it a squeeze, which she softly returned. They were going to have to keep their relationship professional while at work. But right now no one was around to see the PDA.

Riding the elevator up two floors and walking down one more hall Nick and Judy found themselves in front of the most terrifying door in all of existence. They glanced at each other, then at the door, then back at each other. It was now or never and never wasn't an option. Nodding once Judy reached out and knocked in her signature pattern; three times real quick.

Nick instantly turned around to retreat. "Oh well he's not here better luck-"

"Get your tails in here." Bogo Commanded. Judy stood on her tippy-toes reached up opened the door and walked in. Nick was left with little choice other than to follow.

Inside the office Bogo stood at the window that was streaming in the morning sun. Judy had to let out a tiny breath of relief. Having light in the room made Bogo less terrifying.

"Sit." It was a simple command spoken without even looking at them, and yet it felt like he was telling them to sit in an electric chair.

Without hesitation fox helped rabbit up on to the single chair before clambering up himself. When Bogo turned abound to examine them he saw they were sitting _just_ that much closer than the last time he's had them in here. He also noticed how painstakingly close their fingers were to intertwining.

His glare seemed to make them shrink in on themselves. _I still have that case file to read over and they don't have anything pressing to do so…. I'll make them squirm a little._

Bogo sat down at his huge oak desk and opened the case folder that was sitting on top.

"Sir is that-"Judy asked but was interrupted.

"Yes... no, I won't show you." It was Wolford's latest update on the observatory case.

Bogo would occasionally look up between readings. It hadn't even been four minutes yet and it looked like the two small cops in front of him were going to burst from anxiety.

He noticed that they would subtly flick each other with their nearly intertwined paws. This drew his attention. What were they doing? He'd never seen anything quite like it. Then it suddenly hit him; they were communicating!

"What are you doing?" he asked in a board tone. Nick and Judy froze and got the 'we've been caught' look. "Well?"

"Oh I was just telling Hopps a joke, and she was telling me to shut it."

"Is that so?" Nick nodded. "Whatever. I best get this over with then. I'll keep it short and simple. Your payed medical leave is over. You both will be returning to active duty. NO heavy work either of you; especially you Hopps. I'm putting you both on parking duty today. I don't want to hear a thing about it!" Judy closed her mouth and put her paw down. "Also, I've heard rumors about the two of you being in a relationship. Honestly; I don't care. What you decide to do in your free time is your own business. As long as it doesn't come to work and you stay professional I'll let you stay partners. But! You strike out; I'll have you both in different stations so fast your heads will be spinning. Got it?"

"Yes sir." They answered in unison.

"Good, now get out of here." Nick was first to reach the floor where he again helped Judy. As they opened the door Bogo stopped them one last time with a cough and an almost evil smirk. "Last thing; if Hopps brings in more than one hundred fifty tickets by noon she's going back on leave for a week."

Judy looked at Bogo as if he'd just called her cute. Nick quickly grabbed her shoulders and led her out of the door before she could start firing off questions and arguments that would only get her in trouble.

With the door shut and his office again empty Bogo allowed a small smile to appear as he shook his head. He'd never seen two people so in tune that they could communicate without uttering a single word. "Heh young love."

* * *

Judy slowly walked to the bright pink car that was sitting next to an expired parking meter. She hated this part of the job; hated ruining mammals' days. Today was even worse than normal. She had only given forty seven tickets since she and Nick had left the station five hours ago.

As she was typing in the information a caribou hurriedly ran up and hopped in the car. She looked at Judy with worry until Judy waved her off. The caribou heaved a sigh of relief and mouthed a 'thank you' through the window before pulling into traffic. Judy on the other paw groaned and hit 'cancel' on the ticket machine.

"Forty seven, forty seven! In five hours. What am I; ten years old? What is old Buffalo Butt trying to prove? I am perfectly capable of doing this job. I don't need babying."

"My my Fluff breaking out the real mean words are we?" Nick drove up in the fabled three wheeled joke mobile.

"Mean? You think that's mean? I'll show you mean!" She yelled.

Nick parked and disembarked. When he did he raised his paws in a calming manner. "It's alright that isn't necessary officer. I just came to pick you up so we could go eat lunch. Come on Carrots let's go relax for a moment."

Judy sighed and seemed to settle down, until her ears shot up with the distinctive chime of a parking meter. "Oh come on!" She stomped her rear paw in a cute show of anger. "You know what? I'm done I quit! I have forty seven tickets and that's enough for one day!" She marched to the tiny go cart of a vehicle they were allowed to drive and hopped in. "Let's go Nick."

Nick hopped in and carefully pulled off the curb into the crazy traffic. It was lunch hour so everyone and their brother had somewhere to be. It really made for some crazy driving. "Where to?"

"Back to the station; it's taco Tuesday today." She growled.

"Relax Carrots it's over; you don't need to worry about the evil tickets anymore."

"And why's that?"

"Because Bogo said we need to catch up on our paper work this afternoon." Nick regretted the words even before he had finished saying them.

Judy groaned and slumped back in to the seat. "What are the damned odds?!"

"Hey it's alright, I asked Wolford about it before I came to get you and he said it should only take an hour maybe two at the most to get it all done."

"Fine, I guess that's not that bad. So how many tickets did you get?"

"Eighty one."

"That's it?" Judy asked in surprise.

"Yep we're still in city center. Everyone here already has a reserved parking spot. And anyone who doesn't usually gets back to their vehicle before the meter expires."

"I guess you're right."

As they talked they drove around the huge park that marked the city center of Zootopia. As Nick had said they didn't leave the city center. So they were easily with in walking range of the station all morning. This also made it so their epic drive back was rather short and dull.

Nick finished the huge circle and guided them back into the parking lot where he quickly maneuvered into a free space.

"And we have made an arrival. Thank you for choosing three wheeled joke mobile enterprises. We hope you choose us again. Have a nice day." Judy giggled at Nick's antics. It was precisely what the doctor ordered. After the hectic morning she had and the beyond frustrating quest of putting tickets on parked cars Judy needed a little humor.

"Let's go Nick, before everyone eats all the taco shells again." The pair got out and raced to the front doors. After they were on the inside they slowed down to a steady jog. Once they were in the break room they grabbed paper plates and served themselves some food. As they sat down together (It was more like sat up; neither of their rear paws touched the ground.) a female cougar moved to their table.

"Oh hi, I'm Judy. This is my partner Nick. I haven't seen you around here before. Are you one of the new recruits?" Judy said as she reached out a paw.

The feline took the offered paw and gave it a stiff shake. It almost felt like her grip was a little too tight to Judy. "I've heard of you, who hasn't heard of Judy Hopps first bunny cop and current holder of twenty nine of the thirty records the academy has. Oh I'm Haley by the way." Her voice was smooth but had the tone of someone who viewed themselves above others.

Nick bumped Judy's thigh under the table, getting her attention, before he started signing to her.

N: _Did that come off as a little rude to you? I think that came off a little rude._

"It's pleasure to meet you." Nick said also reaching out for a paw shake and got an even harder one than Judy.

J: _Yeah it came off as rude. What do you suggest; caution or word play?_

N: _Word play. Why do you even ask?_

J: _I don't know._

Nick and Judy were brought out of their silent conversation as Haley cleared her throat. "So," she purred in a prying way. "If I may ask. Is it really true that you are in a relationship with each other?" her tone held an underling helping of disgust.

Nick saw what was going on now. This cougar was trying to humiliate them in front of everyone else. Now that he thought about it where was she during the morning briefing? He didn't see her there. Maybe she was in the afternoon and evening shift?

N: _I take it back caution would be better, definitely caution._

Judy sat up just that much taller. She was not going to back down. She was not ashamed to be with Nick; no she was proud. "Yes, we are together." Saying it gave her a little thrill.

"But why? Do you really think you have anything to gain from an impossible relationship? Do you really think anyone here would really support it? Not to mention the fact that it's impossible for you to have children."

Right as she was about to continue Wolford slammed his plate, with at least a dozen tacos piled on top of it, down next to Judy making her jump. "Hi guys! How was meter-maiding?"

Fangmyer slid into the seat next to Nick. "Ralph quit, it's already nightmarish enough without you reminding them about it."

"Fine, sorry Nadine. So… when's the wedding?"

Nadine reached over both Nick and Judy's heads and smacked Ralph on the head. "Quit pestering them about it! It's their choice when it's going to be." It got awkward quick, until Nick got a nudge on the shoulder.

When Nick turned around he saw it was Tusker a massive bore and the commander of the precinct one TUSK team who had nudged him. The boar was known for his no nonsense get down to business attitude about work. But when he wasn't leading or planning a TUSK raid and was off the clock he liked to joke around and have a good time. He could go from 'get to work!' to happy go lucky in an instant.

He smiled and spoke in the deepest voice Nick or Judy had ever heard. "Hey Nick, Judy. Congrats on the relationship. Sorry I couldn't be here this morning for your grand return. I was in Tundratown dealing with a few complications from last week."

All while this happened Haley watched in complete shock. That was until she felt a huge hoof land on her shoulder. She turned and saw none other than Bogo. He had a plate with several tacos spilling greens sitting on it.

"Don't mind Hopps and Wilde's status together outside of work. It's too confusing, even for me. That or you could transfer to another station, I don't know; just a thought." A second later he was gone.

Stunned that Bogo had just said that Haley moved back to her original table. Back when Wilde and Hopps had performed her final search and rescue drill Haley had a feeling there was something between them. She didn't support what they were doing but they were her coworkers. Even if they were on different shifts they had to be a team and at least be able to work together if the need arose. In the meantime Haley had to think about this carefully before she made any rash decisions.

Back over at the WildeHopps table Tusker had sat down where Haley had been not a moment before and was leaned over his plate as if he was telling a great secret.

Nick and Judy had scooted a little closer. Technically off the clock and around friends they could be a little bit more cuddly for a moment.

"Thanks Daniel. What happened last week?" Judy asked.

All three Wolford Fangmyer and Tusker looked at each other before Wolford nodded.

"The observatory was hit again last Saturday. They're cleaned out; no more equipment to steal."

"I was in Tundratown to, educate, the tusk team that is responsible for that part of the city on how to quickly and efficiently set up a road block. That is two times now that they were unable to stop a high speed chase." Tusker filled in.

"Was anyone hurt?" Nick asked.

Fangmyer answered. "No, we lost them. I don't know how but they just disappeared without a trace. It's almost as if their vehicle changed into another."

"How are they this good? The Silent Hand brothers have been locked up for more than twenty years. How are they not way out of practice?" Judy wondered.

"None of us know Judy. And the trail is going to go cold because they're done with the observatory. There's nothing left for them to steal there."

Nick and Judy looked at each other.

"Any ideas Fluff?"

"No Nick, I've got nothing; nothing at all."

* * *

 **AN:**

 **Alright let's get down to business! Here are all the references from last chapter. First is the title I got it from an episode of The Fairly Odd Parents. In it is a line from Timmy's dad where he said he was going grocery hunting.**

 **Second is a crowd favorite: Supper Bash Mammals but the third is hidden alongside it: The Jak games. I'm not going to go in to detail but they were and still are my favorite games ever.**

 **The fourth is a reference to the TV show Danny Phantom. I mention Judy's brother Danny and his friends Tucker and Jazz.**

 **The next one is when Judy says: "Oh, rubbish and poppycock!" It's a line straight from The Fox and The Hound. The next one is another movie line that Judy says: "You, you big dumb dumb, dummy head!" This one comes from the movie Shark Tale.**

 **Another small one is whenever their breakfast boils over and I said it was snapping crackling and popping. Yeah I reference cereals more than once in this chapter and this time it's Rice Krispies. Coincidentally the next reference in this chapter is when Judy asks for the Peanut Butter Bunnies they are model after the spring edition for Reese's Puffs which were shaped like bunnies. When I first saw them I may or may not have bought six boxes and proceeded to finish all of them in less than a week.**

 **Next up is two Shrek lines the first one is: "Well that's not nice; I kiss you all the time." replacing 'that's not nice, it's only a donkey.' and literally the next two paragraphs down is a line referencing the famous onions and ogres have layers conversation.**

 **I think there's like two left; the first is when Nick pinches Judy's tail and yells 'beep' I was thinking of that scene in Ice Age 4 when Crash and Eddie are explaining that they're very very stupid and one of them squeezed Louis' nose and says 'beep'.**

 **The next are some Moana references. Yeah I have finally seen that movie. The first is when Judy's wet ears slap her in the face, just like Moana's hair. The second is a line from Maui (that is spelled really weird) Nick is the one who says it: 'I have no excuse. I'm sorry.' I know it's not the full line but close enough right? No? Alright I'll do better next time.**

 **Aaand I was wrong there's one left (Other then the one that I gave away in the end chapter authors note.) You know how Santa from Rise of The Guardians always said he could feel it; in his belly? Yeah Judy is also getting a bad feeling; in her belly.**

 **And the authors note reference I gave to you. It's from Despicable Me 2 when El Macho reveals his evil plan and Dr. Nefario popped the cheap party popper with a excited "whoo hoo!"**

 **Alright that's all 15 of them. Let me know how many you found? Do I hide them too well? Should I try to do this more in other chapters? let me know what you think.**

 **Let me know what you think in a nice review. I do read those. If I don't reply right away it's because I'm really busy or I can't connect to the internet.**

 **PS: This is a note to Zanrok if you ever read this. I'm sorry I stole your names for Wolford and Fangmyer. But! You made it so I can't see them without these names. (If you haven't read his stuff you are not living yet. Go be enlightened by his amazing and poisonous fluff stories. You may need a radiation suit to read it without losing all your teeth but it's worth it!)**

 **Thanks guys! Have a good one.**


	17. Legacy

**Chapter 17**

 **Legacy**

* * *

 **Chapter quote:**

 **Sometimes to give a gift you must give it to someone who will pass it on when the time is right.**

 **-Anonymous.**

* * *

 **Edited by OptumusPower92**

 **Thanks, Buddy!**

* * *

 **Tundratown Mountains**

 **4:45 a.m.**

High up in the snowy mountains of Tundratown was a small log cabin. Nothing too huge and but it was very nice. It once belonged to one of the old resorts of the area but had been bought by the two occupants' benefactor.

The inside of the building was two stories high with a Cathedral roof. There was a loft where the beds resided. Underneath were the simple kitchen and the bathroom. Both separated by a wall. The rest of the building was open with a few pieces of old future lying about. And of course, there was a huge fireplace to keep the place warm.

Ryan and Grant Snowlence had made this a long-term base of operations. The reason was both a simple and disheartening one. Simply it was a place way out of the public eye that was safe. The reason it was disheartening was that the simple cabin was the last place their whole family had their last vacation together.

Just a few months after their vacation their father, Bryan, died in a horrible car accident. Their father was the founder of the Helpful Hand Moving Company. After his death, the company and jobs with it fell to the then-teenage Ryan and Grant. They had already been helping their father with the moving work. So it wasn't that much strain physically but it was mentally. Because of this their mother Lisa never truly recovered from losing Bryan.

Over the next year, the stress of running one of the biggest moving companies in Zootopia took its toll on Lisa. Her health started to rapidly decline. Fearing the worst Ryan convinced Grant to sell the company for the money to save their mother. But her health problems were too greatly progressed. All they could really do was make sure she was comfortable until her final hours.

As the months passed Ryan and Grant took what jobs they could but would ultimately end up back at square one. That was until Ryan had an idea. It was back when they were helping one of the more wealthy people of Zootopia move that they were kidding around about how easy it would be to steal the expensive items and sell them on the black market.

It took a lot of convincing from Ryan to get Grant to agree but eventually, he caved. Their first heist was a complete success. Not a thing out of place other than the item they stole. For five years they made hit after hit becoming notorious in the underground for their effectiveness and success. It wasn't until the fifth year that they started to get overconfident and sloppy. It was on one fateful night in the Rainforest district that it all changed.

They were caught. They had been hired to steal guns; real combustion firearms. The only place you could reliably get those were from the ZPD itself. They had decided to hit one of the smallest precincts in the city on a night that there would be few officers on duty.

Back then surveillance was crude and expensive and usually only placed in high traffic places; like the lobby. All had been going well until one unlucky officer rounded the wrong corner at the wrong time. Ryan had already reached and looted the weapon cash and was armed. As soon as he had seen the officer he'd pulled the trigger.

Ryan had often boasted that their gang name was because of their skill and their custom to silence anyone who ever caught them. Never in all of the five years had he killed anyone. But in the spur of the moment, he made true of their name.

Over the next months, Ryan and Grant had a falling out. They argued on whether or not to leave the way of life they were living behind. They'd made their fortune what more could they want? Eventually, Ryan convinced Grant to go on one last heist with him, and then they would call it quits and leave the country. But he was planning on going out with a bang. Their target was the one the only Precinct One city center.

It was now that Ryan and Grant thought over their lives and what choices they'd made and how it lead up to this point. All around the cabin wrecked furniture was strewn everywhere and there was a large hole in one of the walls. Three bloodied bodies lay scattered about the ruins. The fire was roaring in the fireplace almost ready to escape and overtake the brothers who were sheltered in the kitchen. It was clear a battle had taken place.

Grant has leaned up agent the cabinets with several bullet wounds peppering his body. He took a ragged breath. "Never thought it would turn out like this. Never thought we would make it this far either, eh Ryan?" He spoke in a deep but soft voice.

Ryan was kneeling down trying his best to tend to his brother's wounds. "Yeah, we put up one hella fight. But I have a feeling they'll be back."

"Then go. I'm not going to make it. Save yourself."

"Grant we've been through far too much together for me to do that. Do you remember what mom use to say? 'That'd you'll be there for each other, not because of what you've done in the past and not because of your mistakes; but because you're brothers. You'll see through the mistakes and the pain and you'll see each other. It's because of the differences that you both will make it; together.'"

"Heh. You're such a sap. Do you ever regret it, everything we did?" Grant asked in a low voice.

"No not all of it. The only things I regret is killing that officer and trying to kill the bunny and her partner."

"We were under orders Ryan, to keep the plan secret, kill if necessary but as a last resort. You know how important it is that we did that."

"Yeah I know but that doesn't excuse me, there was another way. You've always been the better mammal out of us. I've always been the bad one. I am the reason we're here today."

He was unable to continue because of a crash from the front door. In walked a large group of mammals they whore heavy clothing for the cold and ski masks to obscure their identity. They all brandished assault rifles. Among them were four polar bears two feline mammals and three canines all of which couldn't be identified because of their masks.

Ryan stood up and placed himself between his brother and the group his old revolver in paw. "So you've come to finish the job, eh? May I ask who sent you? Was it Exodus? Trying to tie up their loose ends?"

"I know not of what you speak Snowlence. I just here to put a stop to your operation." Spoke the largest polar bear in a gravely Medvessian accent. (FYI it's Russian, at least that is what I was told) He stood noticeably taller than the rest even towering over Grant.

"What are you going to do, kill me?" Ryan taunted.

"That just about size of it." Said the polar bear.

"Well, I guess this is it isn't it Grant?" Ryan asked. When he didn't get an answer he turned and his heart dropped like a stone in water. Grant was still his chest was unmoving and his eyes were still open looking up at Ryan with worry.

Even before Ryan could turn to try to avenge his fallen brother he was jerked up into the air by his neck. He couldn't breath and the pressure around his neck was growing by the second. All he could do was raise the pistol in his paw and pull the trigger. But he was met with a loud click signaling he was out of bullets.

Ryan resigned to his fate he was losing feeling in his arms and legs. He felt the revolver the same one that his father owned and his father before him slip from his paw and land with a loud thud. Ryan closed his eyes and thought of his family. Was it true that they would all be together again after the end? Or were they doomed to forever be torn apart? It was a scary thought to have but he found a little comfort that maybe he could be with them again.

Ryan's world was fading into nothing. Right before he crossed the threshold he silently prayed the even after all the evil he'd done and all the pain he'd caused that maybe in the end when it all came down to it his actions would save others. That maybe he helped save the world.

* * *

Nick was seated in a huge yet comfortable armchair in a small but cozy room. He was seated in the middle of the room one window behind him and another on the left wall. The right wall was mostly bookcases and the far wall was more of a door than anything. The walls themselves were painted a soft green with orange swirls and designs mixed in. Nick almost could compare it to Judy's favorite pajamas.

To be honest Nick didn't want to be here. It was his day off and he wanted to spend it with Judy. But Chief Bogo had suggested (ordered) that he to come to see the precinct shrink, just to make sure he was fit for duty.

"So are there any issues that you have been experiencing since you encountered Ryan. Any at all; loss of weight, troubled sleep, an increase in stress, strange worrying or frightening dreams? Anything at all?" Miss. Sharosch a kind old porcupine asked.

"Well, there are dreams now and again. But they're getting more infrequent."

"Come on Nick fess up. That rabbit said you'd be stubborn; don't make her right." There was no force behind the words just a little kind humor.

"That rabbit has a name; it's Judy and she's always right." Nick informed with warmth at the end.

Miss. Sharsoch looked over her notepad at the fox. "Ah, I see I've hit a nerve. Let me guess… You dream about not being able to save her on that night." Nick's silence spoke loud and clear. "So that leads me to the conclusion that you are afraid of losing Judy from your life."

"Yes," Nick whispered. "It's just I'm afraid one of these days one of her quick decisions is going to get her hurt, or worse." Nick had long ago realized that he was a fool for ever thinking Judy was going to run away from him.

"Well, Nick you're not suffering from any kind of trauma you just care for your partner, as you should. I'll say this off the records just like I did to Judy. The both of you need to look out for one another be it on the job or not. You need to know when to push each other forward or pull back on the reins so the speak. Nick, I already know Judy is going to be doing most of the pushing it's up to you to hold her back case she gets going too fast. But that doesn't mean you can't push either when she needs some help. Here," she held out a slip of paper, "take that to Bogo so he knows you're clear for duty like you were the day you both returned."

Nick removed himself from the bed-sized piece of furniture before stretching. "Thank you, Miss. Sharsh. Take care."

"Yeah yeah, you as well." She turned and waddled back to her desk which was tucked away in the far corner of the room. It _was_ a room that would fit the largest mammals so it was easy to hide a desk in it without meaning to.

Nick quickly found the door and his way out. Now all he had to do was find Judy. Not too hard, not including the fact that she was a little bunny in one of the largest and most complex buildings Nick had ever set paw in. _Piece of carrot cake. Oh great now I'm starting to talk like her!_

The first place he checked was Clawhauser's desk. On his approach Nick didn't see any cottontails or black tipped ears; Judy must not have been around there. But while he was there he might as well ask if anyone's seen her.

"Hey Spots, have you seen Carrots around?"

Clawhauser looked up from his computer, then back down at Nick. "Yeah, she said something about going to the gym in the back. Other than that I got nothin'. Sorry."

"Oh no, you're good, thanks." Nick turned with a wave and returned to the labyrinth of halls doors and offices that made up the ZPD. Several minutes later Nick pushed open a huge metal door and entered the ZPD's gym. Almost all of the equipment in the massive room was made for large mammals but in the far corner, there was some stuff for smaller mammals like Judy and himself.

Nick was half expecting Judy to be on one of the treadmills trying to break the sound barrier. But he was surprised to find the place completely empty. Shrugging, Nick walked deeper into the room and to the left. About halfway down the left wall was another door. Nick crossed the threshold into the second part of the gym. In it was a pool for doing laps with two lanes, and in the middle of the water floated a rabbit shaped form.

Ever since her accident Judy had found that floating around on her back in the water would rid her of the little bits of pain she would still get every now and again. And that was exactly what she was doing. She was just bobbing around in a one piece ZPD swimsuit. She almost looked like she was asleep.

"Carrots," Nick called softly as to not startle her. "I'm done with my luxury interrogation. Are you ready to go?"

Judy opened her eyes and smiled at Nick. "Sure." She called before swimming towards him. She made the distance in a few seconds before stopping at the edge of the pool. She held onto the edge and looked up at Nick in a cute way.

Nick kneeled down close to her. "You know you look adorable right now?" Judy started to blush and her ears dropped which only made her look even cuter. "C'mere." Nick leaned down even further and kissed the rabbit. The kiss quickly became more heated before Judy latched onto Nick's shirt to hold herself closer to him.

Judy pulled back, breaking the kiss. Nick barely had time to register what was happening when Judy suddenly start dragging him into the pool by hooking her feet on the edge and kicking off. Nick tried to flail his arms to catch onto something that he could hold to. But there was nothing in reach.

Nick ungracefully plunged into the cool water head first. He struggled for a split second trying to find his equilibrium before his head broke the surface. Nick opened his eyes to see Judy a few feet away smirking at him.

"I told you to stop calling me cute in public."

"But I said you were adorable there's a difference between that word and cute."

"Nick what did I tell you cute and words like it did to me?"

"That they turned you on."

"No! That's not what I'm talking about!"

"I don't know, you said it was just embarrassing but I think your answer just now gave away your real reason."

"I'm going to drown you."

"Oh, and how do you plan to take the life of this poor innocent hard working fox?"

"I'm going to kiss you to death dumb fox!" She squealed before lunging at said fox.

Judy grabbed Nick around the neck dragging them both under the surface before mashing her lips to his. At first, it was just a normal kiss but it too became heated. Judy gently explored Nick's teeth with her little tongue; asking for entrance. Nick was happy to oblige and opened his mouth his own tongue venturing out. Tongue met tongue with an electric sensation. Flavors, unlike any others, were traded between the couple.

Unlike in the movies kissing underwater was much harder than it looked. This fact cut Nick and Judy's kiss way shorter than either would have ever wanted. But the need for oxygen drove them back to the surface. They clung to each other and panted.

"As much as I'd like to continue, we better stop before someone catches us."

Judy sighed a little put-out but nodded. "Yeah, we don't need to get fired on a day we aren't even working on."

Nick climbed out of the water first before giving Judy a paw. As soon as they were steady, they started walking to the locker room doors. "You know Carrots if you wanted to have a swim with your favorite fox you should give him some time to change into the right clothes." Nick pulled on his sopping wet shirt which otherwise clung to his lean and muscular body.

"Sorry," She whined as her ears dropped. "I didn't think about that."

"What am I supposed to wear now? My spare clothes? Oh no, spare me the horror of that! I'll never hear the end of how bad they look from you."

"Oh hush, Nick it can't be that bad." Judy smacked Nick's arm causing water to splatter in her eyes. She flinched before rubbing her face.

"That's what you get for hurting your fox."

"Har har laugh while you can, Slick. I'll get you sometime." They approached the locker room doors which caused them to have to split paths. "Mark my words you handsome red devil, I'll get you!"

"I patiently and religiously await the day my dear." Nick continued into the locker room. A moment later he was on one of the fur dryers with a fresh change of clothes. It didn't take long for him to get dry and changed and he was on his way.

On the way out to the main hallway, Nick's phone chimed. Nick fished it out of his neon orange Pawaiian shirt and looked at the message he received. It was from his mom.

' _Hey, Nicky how are you? I know it's your day off and I was wondering if you and Judy would like to come out to lunch with me. You don't have to if you both already have plans. I just thought it would be nice to go out with my kit and his new girlfriend.'_

Nick smiled at the message. His mother could really write a convincing invitation she even threw a little guilt in there at the end. With an eye roll, Nick started typing out a reply. He paused after re-entering the hall. Judy was already out clothed and dried albeit a little bit fluffier.

"Hey, Carrots my mom is inviting us to lunch you wanna go?" Nick asked.

"Sure that sounds great!" She beamed.

Nick finished typing his reply and then read it aloud to Judy for approval. "Hi Mom, Judy and I are doing fine. We'd both love to come to lunch with you. Where did you have in mind?" Judy nodded and Nick hit send.

Almost instantly Nick's phone pinged with a reply. Nick read it to Judy who was trying to stand as tall as she could to see the screen.

"Oh, that's great! I was thinking about going to Weazer's. Does 12:30 work?" Nick read in his best 'mom' impersonation.

Judy giggled at Nick's poor imitation. "You need to be nicer to your mom. Otherwise, I'll ask about your baby pictures."

Nick's face paled "Oh please don't bring that up any sooner than it has to happen. I already know she's going to _love_ showing you those. And who says I don't treat my mom nicely?"

"No one. I'm just saying you need to get better at your voice acting. Otherwise, I'll get to see pictures of your fluffy baby butt."

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Judy smirked and nodded. "Well, I'd better start practicing then. Alright, here's my Carrots impression," Nick cleared his throat before speaking in an overly feminine and high pitched voice. "Hi, I'm Carrots. I'm a cute fuzzy wuzzy bunny cop that loves the super awesome and handsome fox Nick Wilde— oof"

Judy barely managed to hit Nick, interrupting him, before succumbing to her giggles. "Shut," she was interrupted by a burst of laughter. "Up Nick. I don't sound like that and I said to stop calling me cute!"

"If my ears are correct it was you who just called yourself cute, so it doesn't count." Nick reasoned.

Judy rolled her eyes at Nick's logic. "Yeah, whatever you say, Nick."

"What you mean is whatever _you_ say." Nick pointed out matter-of-factly.

Judy rolled her eyes again, this time she really took the time to emphasize the action and make clear how annoyed she was. But she still couldn't hide how the corners of her mouth curved up in a smile she was trying not to have. She grabbed Nick' paw with both of her own and started pulling him to the exit. "Come on Nick, we have a lunch to go to." She tried to grumble and sound mad but failed at that too.

At the same moment across the station, Wolford was also exiting the building he'd gotten a lead and was hot on its trail. Was this the break they all needed was this the clue that would crack the case? All he knew is that it was worth a shot.

* * *

"Alright, I'm going to the little bunnies room. I'll be right back, Nicky." Judy giggled before she skipped away from the booth, but not before she kissed him on the cheek.

Nick and his mother sat in silence for a long moment. Nick had his arms crossed and wouldn't look in the direction of Marian.

"What?" Marian asked.

"I can't believe you showed Judy my kit pictures," Nick grumbled. "I thought we agreed that you would do that after I was married! What happened to you being on my side?"

Over the course of their lunch together Marian had started showing Nick's baby pictures to Judy. It wasn't just a convenient coincidence that she happened to have all the good ones saved on her phone. She'd been planning this lunch ever since Nick had shown up at her door with a bunny saying he was joining the ZPD.

She'd had a plan for years now. It only needed patience for the conditions to be right for her to start executing it. After months of waiting, she got her sign shortly after Judy woke up in the hospital.

Marian smiled and rested her chin on her paws which they themselves rested on the table. "Look at me, Nicky." Against his will, Nick met his mother's eyes. "Do you want to know why I brought you both here today?" Nick shook his head. "I'm a mother, Nick. I know when my kit is going into another stage of his life."

"I'm not a little kit any more mom," Nick complained.

"You'll always be my little kit. But like I was saying, I'm a mother; I know. You love that bunny very much don't you?"

Surprised by the suddenness of the question Nick became cautious. "Yeah… I do, why?"

"Do you think she's the one; your life mate?"

"Mom, can we not talk about that?"

"Shut up Nicky you're a fully grown adult, you should act like one more. No wonder Judy is always at her wit's end around you."

"Fine. Yes, I think— no, I know she's the one." Nick spilled.

"Alright." Marian pulled the ring on her finger she'd been fiddling with off and placed it on the table in front of Nick.

Nick looked at the brass and copper ring in surprise. It was the same ring his father had proposed to Marian with and the same one he placed on her finger the day they were married. He even remembered playing with it when he was a little kit. Even after all the years of not being married she still wore the band faithfully.

Nick had a feeling he knew what was happening. Nick opened his eyes to "Mom what are you doing?" he asked.

"Take it. I want you to have it when you marry Judy. It doesn't mean you have to rush. But when you're ready you can use it if you choose." Marian spoke kindle.

"But Dad gave this ring to you; it's yours." Nick reasoned. He didn't want to take something that was so precisions to his mother.

"Nick I've said this before; your father would be so proud of who you've become today. I'm more than certain that he would want you to marry that sweet bunny. I think he'll approve of me giving this to you. I don't need this old ring anymore. I want you to make it as special to Judy as your father did for me."

Nick reached down and picked up the ring. He had always wondered just how the copper and brass became braided together in such a way. Turning it over in his fingers he saw the gray spot that marked the solder point. The ring itself was simple and inexpensive, but the sentimental value was beyond measurement.

"Thank you Mom," Nick whispered having a hard time keeping the emotion out of his voice.

"It may need to be resized but that won't be hard to do," Marian said casually.

Nick placed the ring in his pocket and smiled up at his mother. She smiled back at him, just like she did when he was little. Over the years Nick had always had a strong connection with his mother. Their relationship was strained while he was hustling, but she still loved him. He was all she had and she was all he had. But even so, she still wore her wedding ring, still loved Nick's father. It put a knot in Nick's throat for her to be giving it up for him to pass on to Judy.

At that moment Judy decided to return to the group. "What did I miss? When I left, Nick was ready to burst into flames and now he's looking all sappy and dare I say emotional. What happened?"

"Oh, nothing dear. We were just reminiscing about some old times, that's all." Marian covered quickly.

Judy shrugged with a smile and sat down next to Nick. They all sat and created small talk until Marian dropped Judy a bombshell.

"So tell me, Judy, how do bunny relationships work, I'm curious."

Judy started to blush. "Well, we start out by dating, being around each other a lot. This usually means we either go work in the field with them during the day or they come and work with us. It's a huge farming community out there so that is the best way to spend time together. There can be movies and dinners just like normal. But tradition usually had us working together to see if we could maybe live together. Then if it's the right person we get engaged and then married. The whole process can take up to three, maybe four months." As she explained Nick listened closely

"Three or four months? That's pretty quick." Marian stated.

"Well most of us have grown up close together and been to school together. That's part of it. But sometimes it can take longer for a relationship to reach the next 'level' so to speak. Sometimes up to a year at most."

"Do bunnies mate for life?" Marian asked.

Judy's blush darkened but she didn't shy away. "Yeah, we do. Divorces are rare but not unheard of. The only other reason a couple would be separated is if one of them passed away." Judy paused seeming to think something out. "May I ask how fox relationships work?"

"Of course, what do you want to know?"

Judy's blush was darker than ever. "Do-do foxes mate for life?"

"Nick hasn't told you?" Judy shook her head. "Oh, I see still trying to figure out how this whole relationship thing works in general. Yes, we do mate for life. In fact, depending on how strong the relationship is if one of the couples passes away it usually causes the other to as well."

"Then why didn't you die when Robbin did." Judy covered her mouth shocked at her own words. She tried to keep the question from flying out of her muzzle but it did before she could think about it. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me and I shouldn't have said it. Just, just forget I asked."

"It's alright Judy. My question is; Nick told you about Robbin? He's never told anyone about that… But to answer your question; I wanted to die after I lost Robbin, I lost the will to go on. But I couldn't leave Nick all alone in the cruel world to fend for himself. What kind of mother would I be if I did that?" She chuckled. "Not a very good one, I'll tell you that. So it was ultimately Nick that saved me."

Judy looked over at Nick who was blushing so much that it was visible. She was about to make a jab at him in his weakened state but at that moment George walked up to the table.

"Alrighty folks, plus Nick, you guys all done?" After receiving three sets of nods he continued. "Anything for dessert? Come on Red treat your bunny to some sugar. You know she'll love it."

"Oh yes Nick, give me some sugar," Judy said suggestively. This caused George and Marian to burst out laughing. Judy herself was mid-chuckle when Nick leaned forward and licked her from her lips to little pink nose. Ears ramrod straight up from surprise, Judy froze all except for her nose which wiggled like crazy.

"Sweet enough for you dear?" Nick sat up straight at looked at George as if nothing just happened. "Let's see... Carrots was talking about getting ice cream yesterday while we were on patrol. So how about some of your fried ice cream for me and Carrots? And what do you want Mom?"

"Sounds unhealthy, I'll have a bowl as well."

"Sure thing Mrs. Wilde. I'll have that out for you guys in a jiffy."

"George! What have I told you about calling me, Mrs. Wilde? Stop that! You're making me feel old." She teased.

George winced and his ears dropped. "Sorry I didn't mean for it to have that effect, it won't happen again." With a fancy bow, George scurried back to the kitchen.

"You know mom he's been calling you Mrs. Wilde since he was a kid, ease up on a guy."

"I know that Nicky, it's good for him. We've all known each other forever now it's fair now that he's grown up that he can call me by my first name."

As Nick and Marian talked Judy came out of her stunned stupor. She reached up and touched her nose to feel that it still has Nick's slobber on it. After wiping it off she reached over and grabbed a pawful of Nick's tie. With a strong jerk and a yelp, Nick was nose to nose with Judy.

"You know, Slick… That wasn't the kind of sugar I was talking about..." She pulled him closer and kissed him. She pulled away. "That's more like it." She whispered after which she released the tie.

Nick automatically sat up straight in a daze. His head felt like it was filled with cotton. He hadn't been expecting the surprise kiss, not that he would complain. It was just how Judy worked; in strange and unexpected ways. He loved her for it.

Nick reached over and pulled Judy into his side. After a second she snuggled in and 'hummed' in contentment. Nick rubbed her shoulder affectionately. This is what he wanted, and it was what he had.

After waiting and chit-chatting for several minutes, George sauntered up to the table with two glass bowls in paw. "Here was are, my friends. Two orders of fried ice cream, one for you Marian, and one for the cu—" Nick's glare cut the bobcat short. "–I mean lovely couple."

Judy scooted her and Nick's bowl to herself before digging a spoon in and making a beeline for Nick's muzzle. As soon as Nick turned his glare away from George his nose met spoon full of cold desert. Out of reflex Nick snorted; spraying the sweets all over. Judy squeaked and tried to shield herself.

Nick was only able to look on in shock at the ice cream covered rabbit that was glaring at him. "C-Carrots, listen. That wasn't on purpose, I swear."

"Really now?" she grinned menacingly "It almost looked like you _did_ do that on purpose." Nick opened his mouth to plead his innocence but as soon as he did. Judy flung a spoonful of ice cream at him. She really didn't put that much power behind it, but it still splattered all over his face. "Ha! I got you!" She cheered.

"Carrots, I can't help but be reminded of the day we first met." Nick chuckled at the puzzled look and tilted head Judy was giving him. "What you don't remember your threat about the mucus in cookies and cream? Or maybe the reaction it had on some of the nearby customers?"

A look of realization appeared on her face as the pieces clicked into place. "You mean when you?" Nick nodded in affirmative. "And the?" Judy pointed over her shoulder as if she was still standing in the ice cream shop and everything had just happened a moment ago.

"Yep, Carrots. Remember now?" Judy nodded "Good now we can finally enjoy our well-deserved dessert." Nick took the spoon from Judy's paw and deftly scooped a bite out of the bowl before them. He looked at Judy with a knowing smile and a twinkle in his eye. Without words, Judy opened her mouth and Nick fed her the spoonful of icy sweetness.

Mid-action, Nick's phone started to ring. "I'm sorry ladies. Let me take this." After a moment of maneuvering around Nick managed to fish his phone out of his pocket. With a tap of his thumb, the music stopped. "Wilde here for a wild time."

Suddenly Nick's easygoing smile vanished and he sat up straight in his seat. This caused Judy to look at him in concern.

"Nick, is everything alright?" All she got was a paw being held up telling her to wait a moment.

After a few more tense seconds Nick replied. "Yeah, I understand. We'll be there as soon as we can." With that, Nick ended the call and flopped the phone on the table.

"Who was that Nick? What did they want?" Marian watched on in mild concern at what was unfolding.

"It was Wolford. He's got a lead and needs us to meet him in an hour."

"Really?! Come on Nick lets go!" Judy managed to squirm out of the booth and took off running through the restaurant before she came to a skidding halt. Suddenly she bolted back to the table. "Bye Marian, Thanks for lunch. I'm sorry to cut it short, I'll see you later bye!" And in a streak of gray Judy was gone.

Marian stared in the direction Judy had gone in mild shock at what had just happened.

"I'm really sorry Mom, she's just excited." Nick apologized as he got out of his seat.

"Don't you worry about it, Nick. What did your friend have to say?"

"From the way he sounded it was bad. He sounded shaken and he's a senior detective. Whatever has him this worked up has got to be bad." Nick fished around his pocket for his wallet before Marian batted his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, dear. Lunch is on me today. Go help your 'partner' and remember what I told you."

Nick smiled in gratitude. "Thanks, mom. I love you. I'll call you later." Nick rushed and jogged after Judy. After a quick goodbye to George, he was out and back in the car.

"What took you so long, Slick? I could have already been there if you'd have hurried up."

"Sorry Carrots had to say bye to Mom. Don't you dare say anything about me being a mama's boy." Judy closed her mouth and crossed her arms in a pout.

"Way to ruin the fun." After a moment of not getting an answer, Judy looked over at Nick. All his focus was on the road. "Nick? Are you alright?"

Nick shook himself from his deep thinking and glanced at the rabbit. "Yeah, sorry I'm fine."

"What did Wolford tell you, Nick?"

"He didn't tell me anything. He just sounded… stressed, spooked, unnerved. Whatever you want to call it. Whatever he found out is big."

"What do you think it could be?" Judy wondered allowed.

"I don't know Carrots…. I don't know. We'll get through it though, together." As Nick drove he reached over the center console and opened his paw. Judy without hesitation grasped his paw with hers.

"Yeah, together."

* * *

 **I'm not dead! Whooooooo! Yeah I'm back, sorta. I know it's been a very long time but here it is. I have an excuse. My truck broke down last July, it's taken me till just this last Thursday to get it fixed. Tack that on to school lousing a job and finding a new Job. Honestly I just didn't have the drive to write, I was in a bad place for a long time. But some amazing people helped pull me out and gave me the strength to keep fighting on. You know who you are Den Dwellers. Thank you all so so much! I love you guys.**

 **Now on to how long this may take to update... I don't know. It most likely will be a while. College is starting up in three days. But I promise it will NOT be another six months till I update again. If you think I'm taking too long just PM me and tell me to get my butt back in gear. That really helps actually.  
**

 **If you've stuck around this long thank you for being so patient. I will try my best to do better in the future.**

 **Happy (kinda late) New Years guys! Bye :)**


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